Armenia: Pro-Opposition TV Station Tries for Comeback
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN
A favorable European court ruling has prompted popular pro-opposition broadcaster A1+ to announce it is ready to return to the airwaves in Armenia. The question is how President Serzh Sargsyan’s administration -- already on the international defensive after the March 1 crackdown against opposition protestors -- will respond to the planned comeback.

Iran Quietly Supported a Partitioning of Iraq
BY KAMAL NAZER YASIN
In public and in even in its diplomatic dealings, Iran has adamantly opposed the partition of Iraq, variously deriding the idea as a "diabolical plot," a "colonial scheme," and "divide-and-rule politics." Yet, behind the façade of opposition, Iranian leaders seem to have quietly concluded that a tri-partite partition of Iraq along ethnic-confessional lines may be in Iran’s best interests.
A EurasiaNet Commentary

U.S. Lawmakers Question Kazakhstan’s Fitness To Chair OSCE
BY BRUCE PANNIER
A U.S. congressional delegation visiting Kazakhstan called on the country to speed up democratic reforms ahead of assuming the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010.
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

Turkey: Key Meeting on Cyprus Could Have Large Impact on Ankara's EU Bid
BY YIGAL SCHLEIFER
After decades of stalemate, a new peace process in Cyprus may finally be moving the two sides on the divided island towards reunification, analysts say. But failure this time around, experts add, would create a lasting source of political tension that not only could wreck any hope of Turkish accession to the European Union, but also hamper the EU's and NATO's strategic operations in Eurasia and the Middle East.

Report Highlights a Democratization Decline in the South Caucasus
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN
States in the South Caucasus are following a trend in the former Soviet Union, under which abundant energy wealth is helping to grease the wheels of a decline in democratic values, according to an annual report prepared by the democratization watchdog group Freedom House.

Central Asia: Western Democracies Enable "Petro-Authoritarianism" - Report
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN
Driven by "petro-authoritarianism," the countries of Central Asia are thoroughly throttling democratization, according to an annual survey conducted by the watchdog group Freedom House.