And on key international issues such as UN sanctions on Iran, a "strategic partnership" with Europe, Georgia's future as an independent conduit for central Asian oil and gas, and a final settlement in Kosovo and the Balkans, European diplomats say Russia's positive cooperation is essential.

CNN: Highlights from the world's press

It's a 1, 270-kilometer conduit, 1.2 meters in diameter, that would snake across Afghanistan to carry natural gas from eastern Turkmenistan--with 700 billion cubic meters of proven reserves--to energy-hungry Pakistan and beyond.

FORBES: Kabuled together