While the leaders of NATO were meeting in Madrid last week, another gathering was taking place 5,300 km to the east in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, where the leaders of the five littoral states of the Caspian Sea (Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan) gathered for the 6th Caspian Summit. It was …

As the European bond market falls, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said on June 28 that the central bank will start a bond-buying program on Friday to curb possible debt crises. The ECB is considering maintaining “flexibility” in its reinvestment allocation to its massive EUR 1.7 trillion bond-buying …

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s shuttle diplomacy to Ukraine and Russia this week offered some hope for peace but he needs to follow up with further dialogue to ensure his efforts are not a mere flash in the pan, analysts said. While his mission to persuade Moscow to declare a …