In a telephone conversation on Thursday (20 August) the Russian Foreign Minister told the Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE that "it was necessary to give the Belarusians a chance to resolve their issues themselves without interference".

EU Council president Charles Michel spoke to president Putin on Thursday (20 August), informing him of the EU's position agreed yesterday by the leaders of the 27 member states.

A report by the Baku think-tank CESD says the shadow economy has to be eliminated, while state-owned enterprises must be required to implement deeper reforms. The report concludes that "transition to a more liberal regime seems to be reasonable within this context."

The bombings came a day after it was reported that a Russian general was killed and two other servicemen were wounded by a land mine explosion in eastern Syria.

On a visit to the MZKT Tractor factory on Monday Lukashenko expected to be cheered. Instead he was jeered, bringing back images of the fall of the Romanian dictator in 1989.

Lukashenko promised stability but delivered stagnation. Defying fear, the people of Belarus now see hope and their aspirations must be respected

Kosta Dzugaev, who holds the title of "Honored Scientist of the Republic of South Ossetia" said unification with Russia was the only long term guarantee for the security of the South Ossetian people given the historical events of the last hundred years.

Washington left isolated on an issue that once drew a broad consensus.

EU foreign ministers discussed the situation in Eastern Mediterranean and Belarus in a video conference on Friday (14 August), ahead of their meeting in Berlin at the end of the month.

Hulusi Akar arrived in Azerbaijan on Wednesday evening (12 August) to observe the end of the first phase of military exercises between the armies and air forces of Turkey and Azerbaijan which have been taking place in recent days.