Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Erdogan Searches for Diplomatic Response to Israeli Invasion of Gaza
Israel’s ongoing offensive against Gaza has generated waves of anger among the Turkish public and Turkish political elite. Paralleling mounting street demonstrations throughout Turkey are international attempts by the country’s leaders to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. The attacks came amid Turkey’s growing... MORE
Gazprom Stops Gas Deliveries to Ukraine—What Next?
On the morning of January 1, OAO Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas monopoly, in league with the Russian government, decreased the volume of gas shipped to Ukraine by 90 million cubic meters a day—the amount that Ukraine had contracted for in 2008. Gas shipments of... MORE
Will Turkey See a Sunni-Alevi Confrontation in the Near Future?
On December 18 the Turkish media reported that the Kotku Mosque in the Uskudar district of Istanbul had become the city’s 12th mosque in 11 days to be set on fire (Anadolu Ajansi, December 18). It was the second case of arson at the mosque... MORE
Need for More Transparency in Kyrgyz and Tajik Energy Sectors to Avoid Future Crises
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, both upstream countries with abundant water resources, face the same problem: their water resources are benefiting the ruling regimes while the public is deprived of basic services. In Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s regime has allegedly been secretly selling electricity to neighboring Kazakhstan... MORE
Russia to OSCE: Recognize South Ossetia or Get Out
Russia is threatening to run the OSCE out of South Ossetia at the end of the year. Moscow will only relent if the OSCE recognizes the Russian-installed authorities as legitimate and treats Russian-occupied South Ossetia as an essentially sovereign state.The OSCE has maintained a monitoring... MORE
The Kremlin Defends Its Energy Interests
Russia moved to support the 2 million barrel a day cut in oil production by OPEC by reducing its own oil exports. The country's oil companies and energy projects appear, however, to be facing an uncertain future amid continued volatility in global energy prices.Russia dispatched... MORE
Turkish Military in Need of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Turkey’s efforts since 2005 to purchase 10 Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from Israel finally produced a result with the delivery of the first two Herons to Turkey in the first week of December; but because Turkey insists on mounting ASELSAN-made electro-optical payloads (ASELFLIR 300T),... MORE
A Military Reform That Does Not Seem to Satisfy Anyone
Last October Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov revealed drastic plans to reform and cut the Russian military (see EDM, October 16). Since then, defense experts, the public, and thousands of officers in active service who maybe forcibly retired at short notice have been seeking clarification of... MORE
U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership to Address Georgia’s Vulnerability
U.S.-Georgian bilateral security and military arrangements could come not a moment too soon. This strategic partnership should remedy the security vacuum that the United States, NATO, and the European Union had, each in its own way, allowed to develop in the Black Sea-South Caucasus region... MORE
U.S.–Georgia Security and Military Agreement in the Works
Discussions are advancing on a framework agreement between the United States and Georgia, covering various aspects of relations including security and military cooperation. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza, in Tbilisi on December 16 and 17 for consultations, was tight-lipped when journalists asked... MORE