Eurasia

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed treaties with Georgia’s South Ossetia and Abkhazia on Wednesday that commit Moscow to defend the breakaway regions from any Georgian attack.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A visit to Georgia by senior NATO officials this week was anti-Russian and showed the alliance is driven by Cold War-style thinking, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

KARACHI (Reuters) -The Pakistani rupee weakened on Wednesday due to import payments, weak economic fundamentals and concern over tension with the United States over U.S. military attacks on militants in Pakistan.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that the Caucasus does not need NATO interference in the region in the wake of the recent conflict in Georgia.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran plans to offer a collective strategy to establish stability and security in the Caucasus, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian prosecutors said on Tuesday they are to check safety standards at national carrier Aeroflot after a plane operated by one of its subsidiaries crashed killing all 88 people on board.

Ukraine has been plunged into political crisis again following the collapse of the ruling coalition. The governing parties of President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko are pro-western but are deeply divided over other issues.  Tensions recently came to a head over the subject of presidential powers. 

The Netherlands has prevented the EU from agreeing to extend new trade benefits to Serbia.The block comes despite a positive report from the chief UN war crimes prosecutor on Belgrade’s co-operation.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Firing by Pakistani troops forced two U.S. military helicopters to turn back to Afghanistan after they crossed into Pakistani territory early on Monday, Pakistani security officials said.

TBILISI (Reuters) – NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer condemned Russia’s military action against Georgia but shied away from making any commitment to the ex-Soviet state on when it will be invited to join the military alliance.