It would be naive to think that the world's political geography is set in stone and will never change. Entire human history disproves such arrogance. Revision of national borders for different reasons is a natural element of global progress and is indispensable for the evolution of the international system. In political geography, there is a rotation of periods of stability and instability. The Cold War saw a period of stability. Its end triggered changes in many national and regional borders. The Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia fell apart, while two German states became one. Similar processes are going on in other parts of the world. It would be ridiculous to assume that the South Caucasus will be immune to this process. We decided too early that the Soviet Union's collapse is over. This is not a single event. History shows that empires take a long time to die. This process has too many economic, political, social and psychological repercussions to be simple. It is still going on, and is far from complete. Moreover, it would be naive to assume that the U.S.S.R. will fall apart into neat pieces delineated by the borders of its republics. Many of them were arbitrary and subjective, and for this reason further changes in Eurasian borders are even more likely. The end of the Cold War and the growing economic globalization have produced a new alignment of economic and political centers of forces; new magnets for nations are being formed; new, attractive models of regional and inter-regional development are coming into being; and fewer countries remain aloof from global processes. All this makes the world even more dynamic and promotes evolution of its political geography. Yerevan should understand that this process is accompanied by the progressive decline of sovereign national states, objective reduction in their competence and responsibility, and collapse of isolated economies. New political priorities and economic appeal will be increasingly tearing down administrative divisions.

The latest Russia-European Union summit opened on May 18. Admittedly, it's hard to recall a time when the agenda and prospects for our relations with the EU have been as uncertain as they are now. This trend is also disturbing in view of the fact that overtly nationalist governments have come to power in many Eastern European countries, shunting aside the first-wave democrats who advocated liberalized regimes, minority rights, and closer Eurointegration. The nationalists frequently disagree with the outcomes of the Second World War and the Nuremberg Trials; this creates fertile soil for conflicts with Russia and an entirely new values split. For us, the remains and memorials of war heroes have always been and will always be sacred. But as we see, that is no longer true - or not entirely true - for a substantial part of European Union residents. Such a substantial addition to the existing values split - indeed, Russia's democratic institutions won't correspond to the EU's ideas of developed democracy for some time to come - could turn our dialogue with the EU into something like a conversation between the deaf and the blind. So the backdrop to this Russia-EU summit can't be described as very favorable.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's often acrimonious rhetoric toward the United States attracted much attention after a February security conference in Munich, where Mr. Putin, after rewriting his speech himself, claimed that the United States had "overstepped its national borders in every way." Earlier this month, Mr. Putin seemed to compare the United States to the Third Reich.

Russia is to tone down its increasingly harsh anti-US rhetoric but the two countries failed in talks on Tuesday to make any progress on the issues that divide them – including Kosovo and missile defence. As Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, ended talks with Vladimir Putin at the Russian president’s residence outside Moscow, she brushed off concerns that US missile defence plans posed a threat to Russia’s security. «The US needs to move forward to use technology to defend itself and we’re going to do that,» Ms Rice said after the talks. «I don’t think that anyone expects the US to permit a veto on American security interests.»

One can only be amazed at the present state of Russian-European relations. Misunderstandings and minor issues take precedence over far deeper shared interests. These interests are clear: the need to prevent or manage the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the fight against terrorism, which is bound to get worse after the inevitable American withdrawal from Iraq; the need to defuse, avoid or confront Islamic extremism. There is also a common, albeit hidden, interest in managing the United States, to return that critical country from ruinous unilateralism to a position of effective leadership in a multilateral world. Another issue that should unite Russia and the European Union, but at this juncture is largely contentious, is energy.

In a testimony to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said of the U.S.-Russia relationship, "On many things we have done very well, but the fact is that on some others it's been a difficult period." She will most likely use her forthcoming talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to "halt a dramatic slide in U.S.-Russian relations." After all, Washington still claims it wants Russia to be friendly and, moreover, strong. The Kremlin and Rice have expressed their mutual readiness to discuss embarrassing issues. The United States is at loggerheads with Russia over a host of issues, including U.S. plans for a European-based missile defense system and the possibility of Russia vetoing the independence plan for Kosovo. The two countries largely agree on the Iranian issue and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The slogan proclaimed by Nikita Khrushchev exactly fifty years ago, "Catch up with and overtake America," had such a profound effect on his country's mentality that Russians today still measure everything that happens in Russia against the standards set by America. The catchphrase "catch up with and overtake" (dognat' i peregnat' in Russian) was popular in the USSR as early as the 1920-1930s – so popular, in fact, that the traditional Russian male name
Ignat was quickly joined by the derivatives Dognat and Peregnat.

The presidents of Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan agreed on a landmark gas pipeline deal yesterday in a victory for Moscow over U.S. and European plans for the region. During a three-way summit in the Caspian Sea port of Turkmenbashi, the presidents agreed on pipeline restoration and new construction from Turkmenistan to Russia via Kazakhstan -- a route long favored by Russia.

Tony Blair is about to retire. It does not matter when exactly he leaves his post, tomorrow or in summer.  The decision has already been made - he will first retire as the Labour Party leader and will then pass on his post of prime minister to his successor in the party. The world community is not tired of Tony Blair. During the last decade, he was one of the most charismatic, clever and energetic world leaders, and his disarming smile will be remembered after he disappears from memory like the famous Cheshire cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. He is also leaving the political scene like the Cheshire cat - of his own free will. As Blair said ironically, he would not wish to repeat the destiny of the Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher, who was so certain of the nation's love that she obviously stayed in office too long, and was asked to leave by the leaders of her own party. Blair has realized what the smart Thatcher failed to see - ten years are nothing for the world, but enough for compatriots to get tired of any politician, even if he or she does not make any major mistakes.

President Bush telephoned Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday with relations between the former Cold War foes in a chilly state and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice preparing to fly to Moscow. Tensions have risen over troop deployments and U.S. plans for missile defense in Europe, and the White House said Bush called Putin ahead of Rice's trip which is intended to calm the situation. White House press secretary Tony Snow said they talked about Rice's trip, an upcoming June summit in Germany of leaders from the Group of Eight industrialized nations and ``a range of important bilateral and international issues.''