December 8: Today marks the 20th anniversary of the meeting between leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural Reserve in Belarus in 1991 and the signing of an agreement to set up the Commonwealth of Independent States (CI

7 December: The border between South Ossetia and Russia was closed Tuesday following a grenade attack on the home of the breakaway region's prosecutor and a decision to throw out a court appeal by presidential hopeful Alla Dzhioyeva (Kommersant)

Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan ready to meet again

6 December: The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have met in Vilnius on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Meeting currently being held in the Lithuanian capital.No information has been released following the talks but a statement is expected

OSCE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OPENS IN VILNIUS

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan meet in Vilnius

Interview

5 December: The pro-Kremlin United Russia party has won 238 of 450 seats during elections to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, marking a significant drop compared to 315 seats after 2007's elections, the Central Election Committee said o

4 December: Russians are voting in elections for the State Duma in what many observers consider a test of the popularity of Vladimir Putin. As of 5.00 p.m. Moscow time (1.00 p.m. GMT), turnout was 41.9% across Russia, according to figures released by the

Turkey and US co-ordinate positions on international and regional issues