ZHANAOZEN, Kazakhstan -- Managers at a Kazakh oil and gas company are denying reports that talks have begun with striking oil workers, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

(SRI) - The government is ready to inject more funds into BTA Bank if required, Timur Kulibayev, head of the state-owned holding and investment company Samruk-Kazyna, said on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.

A Kazakhstan court on Wednesday placed a temporary ban on the opposition Communist Party, removing the ruling government's most powerful competitor from running ahead of long-awaited parliamentary elections, DPA reported.

Vladimir Putin has outlined a grand vision to create a Eurasian Union of former Soviet states to compete with the European Union and China.

But what does this mean for oil-rich Kazakhstan, the sprawling country on Russia's southern flank?

Russian officials think the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a bloc of friendly ex-Soviet republics, can develop into a security grouping on par with NATO. But recent CSTO military exercises show that Moscow lacks a clear vision for how to utilize the alliance.

In the 20 years since the Central Asian republics of the Soviet Union became independent, the influence of the Russian language has been declining in these countries.