By Fariz Ismailzade (9/6/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Having witnessed severe pressures from Russia in the field of energy supplies last winter, Ukrainian authorities are keen to diversify the list of their energy partners and thus better prepare for the upcoming winter. The issues of energy security and cooperation in the field of energy refineries have topped the agenda of the inter-governmental meeting, which took place in Baku last week. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Kluyev, who headed the Ukrainian delegation, met with President Ilham Aliyev and discussed the points of interests for the Yushchenko’s upcoming visit.

By Erica Marat (9/6/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Israeli-Hezbollah conflict provoked a mixed reaction for a number of reasons. What began as a conflict at a long-distance location, quite unexpectedly developed into an issue of identity for these post-Soviet Muslim nations. While living peacefully side by side with the Jewish diaspora for thousands of years, there is an evident revival of religious and nationalist feelings following the collapse of the Soviet communist ideology in 1991.

By Marat Yermukanov (8/23/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Dnepr booster rocket was meant to carry eighteen foreign satellites into space, the most important cargo aboard being the first Belarusian earth exploration satellite BelKA. Undoubtedly it was a disastrous blow on Minsk’s ambitious satellite projects, as Minsk had everything ready to celebrate the success of BelKA in a grand way. Space centers in the Belarusian capital city were tuned to get the first satellite information.