Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Kazakhstan’s Peacekeepers Penciled in for Afghanistan?
On January 14 Commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) General David Petraeus, visited Kazakhstan. Among the key senior Kazakh military officers he met with was Lieutenant-General Bolat Sembinov, the deputy defense minister responsible for cooperation with the West. Ostensibly they discussed progress in implementing... MORE
Bakiyev Strengthens Control over Armed Forces Ahead of Opposition Revolts
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s recent personnel reshuffles have shown that he is concerned about a potentially unstable spring as well as presidential elections tentatively scheduled for 2010. Bakiyev has replaced all heads of security structures and revamped cadres in his administration. Furthermore, in December he... MORE
The Media Discuss the Idea of Turkish Troop Deployment in Gaza
Whenever a crisis occurs on the Gaza Strip, the possibility of Turkish troops being deployed on the border between Egypt and Gaza is brought up. In 2007 Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas asked for Turkish troop deployment in Gaza, but Hamas rejected it (Zaman, July 3,... MORE
Recent Initiatives to Advance the Nabucco Project
While the Nabucco pipeline remains clearly the centerpiece of the Southern Corridor project, Nabucco alone—even in its second, full-capacity phase—would be far from sufficient to cover the rise in European demand for non-Russian gas in the next decade. A fully-developed Southern Corridor could achieve the... MORE
Hungary to Host Nabucco Summit in a Reshaped Strategic Context
Hungary is hosting a high-level meeting of active and potential participants in the Nabucco gas transport project on January 26 and 27. Top officials of supplier, transit, and consumer countries; international financial institutions; the European Union; and the United States are expected to participate (MTI,... MORE
The Russian Security Services—The Prime Murder Suspect
On Monday, January 19, at around 3:00 P.M., a Novaya Gazeta reporter Anastasiya Baburova, 25, and a prominent human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov, 34, were shot in the head in a Moscow street some half a mile from the Kremlin by a masked gunman with... MORE
Obama Brings New Hopes for Turkey
President Barack Obama’s inaugural address has been warmly welcomed by the Turkish media. Three of his statements have been commonly praised by the Turkish press: his warm message to the Muslim world, the virtue of democracy, and hope for the future. The liberal daily Radikal... MORE
Azerbaijan, Trapped Between Palestinians and Israel, Takes a Pragmatic Position
Israel’s recent incursion into Gaza could not go unnoticed in Muslim Azerbaijan. The images of women and children dying in the military attacks produced a high level of anger and frustration among the ordinary people. Although the majority of the population strongly condemns the Israeli... MORE
Armenian Government Braces for Council of Europe Sanctions
The Council of Europe looks set to impose embarrassing sanctions on Armenia over its failure to release dozens of opposition activists arrested following the February 2008 presidential election. The move would deal a massive blow to the credibility of the Armenian government’s assurances that its... MORE
European Energy Security and Nabucco Occupy a Central Place in Erdogan’s Brussels Trip
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Brussels on January 18 and 19 to discuss Turkish-European relations. The trip, the first of its kind since 2004, comes against the background of criticism that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has abandoned its commitment to EU... MORE