
Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Russian Gas Offensive Tests EU Energy Plans
The intensity of energy-political conflicts in Europe has been subsiding since the Russian-Ukrainian "gas war" in January, but last week Moscow launched a new offensive aiming at three crucial targets: Turkey, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. Leaders of major European states paid scant attention, focusing instead on... MORE

Turkey and Armenia Relations Continue to Warm as Deal to Reopen Border Inches Forward
On March 17, Congressmen Adam Schiff, George Radanovich and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairmen Frank Pallone and Mark Kirk introduced a resolution to the U.S. House of Representatives co-sponsored by over 70 House colleagues to recognize the Armenian "genocide" of 1915. The resolution is identical to... MORE

Kazakhstan’s Transport Policy Faces Political Dilemma
Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev on his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) praised China's involvement in an important joint $7.5 billion transnational road construction project as an example of their partnership. He said Kazakhstan started the construction of its section of the 3,000... MORE

Opening Salvos of a New Gas War: Russia Versus the EU and Ukraine
The Ukrainian - EU agreement on renovating the main Ukrainian gas trunk pipeline signed in Brussels on March 23 was greeted with a virulent reaction from Moscow. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who runs his countries gas sector with an iron fist, threatened to "review"... MORE

Ankara Debates Rasmussen’s Candidacy for NATO Secretary-General
Discussions over the replacement of the current NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, scheduled to step down on July 31, has intensified, ahead of the Alliance's April 3-4 Summit. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, supported by key European allies, has emerged as the... MORE

Bakiyev Seeks Snap Re-election
Four years after first seizing power, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is seeking a snap re-election. Bakiyev was able to receive rapid support from parliament and the Constitutional Court in scheduling elections for July 23, instead of waiting until the constitutionally defined election date in October... MORE

Moldova’s President Surrenders Long-Held Positions in Joint Declaration with Medvedev
Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin's signature on the March 18 Moscow declaration, with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Transnistria's leader Igor Smirnov (Interfax, Russian MFA website, March 18, 19; EDM, March 20, 25), amounts to a surrender in the final days of Voronin's presidency. This political... MORE

Russia’s Defense Modernization Without a Doctrine
President Dmitry Medvedev chaired a Security Council meeting this week in the Kremlin, with Russia's de facto ruler, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, present, to consider a specific publicly stated agenda: the approval of the draft text of a new "National Security Strategy of the Russian... MORE

Ahmet Davutoglu: The Man behind Turkey’s Assertive Foreign Policy
Ambassador Ahmet Davutoglu, the chief foreign policy advisor to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, visited Washington, March 17-21, to discuss critical developments in the Middle East before President Obama's visit to Turkey on April 6-7. During his visit Davutoglu stated that "The U.S. and... MORE

The Strange Ties between Semion Mogilevich and Vladimir Putin
On March 23, 2009 the Moscow City Court ruled that Semion Mogilevich, also known as Sergiy Shneider, will remain in prison until May 23 while investigators continue to examine his case. (Kommersant Daily, March 24). This is the third extension of his detention the court... MORE