Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
TURKEY CAUGHT IN A DILEMMA OVER SOUTH OSSETIA
The outbreak of fighting between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia has demonstrated the cost of Ankara’s often confused attempt at achieving a balance between becoming a regional player in the Caucasus and the need to maintain a working relationship with Moscow. Many modern Turks... MORE
THE GOALS BEHIND MOSCOW’S PROXY OFFENSIVE IN SOUTH OSSETIA
As anticipated (see EDM, July 11, August 4) Moscow has initiated an offensive military operation by proxy against Georgia in South Ossetia. Although the blow had been expected in upper Abkhazia and may yet materialize there, Russia shifted the direction of attack to the South... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN LIMITS FREEDOM OF SPEECH ON THE INTERNET
In an unprecedented move, on July 1 Kazakh law enforcement authorities suspended the operation of the independent www.posit.kz website for three months. Confirming the harsh measure, Kazakh Deputy Prosecutor General Askhat Daulbayev said that the legal action had been taken after the website operators published... MORE
MONGOLIA AND SOUTH KOREA EXPAND COMMERCIAL AND DEFENSE RELATIONS
During the 20th century, Mongolia’s fate was inextricably bound to that of its giant neighbors Russia and China, but since the collapse of Communism there in 1990, Ulaan Baatar has been cautiously reaching out to the outside world for new security arrangements with nations as... MORE
EXPLOSION RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SECURITY OF THE BTC PIPELINE
On August 5 there was an explosion and subsequent fire on a section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline running through eastern Turkey, resulting in the flow of oil through the pipeline being halted. By August 7 the fire was reported to be under control,... MORE
OSSETIAN SEPARATISTS ARE PROVOKING A MAJOR RUSSIAN INTERVENTION
Military tension in Georgia's separatist region of South Ossetia has been building up for several months. In June the head of the OSCE Mission to Georgia Teri Hakala told me in Tbilisi that military clashes were happening on an almost daily basis, that OSCE monitors... MORE
AUSTRIA’S OMV GIVES UP HOSTILE TAKEOVER BATTLE AGAINST HUNGARY’S MOL
On August 6 the board of directors of Austria’s OMV energy conglomerate decided to abandon its hostile takeover attempt against the Hungarian counterpart MOL (OMV press release, August 6; Der Standard, August 7). The European Commission’s negative assessment of a possible takeover, as well as... MORE
KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT CONFISCATES WEAPONS FROM U.S. CITIZENS, FUELS SCANDAL
On August 4 Kyrgyz police confiscated a weapons cache from U.S. citizens living in a rented house on the outskirts of Bishkek. The U.S. Embassy in Bishkek immediately responded, confirming that the weapons were sanctioned by the Kyrgyz government as part of the anti-terrorism training... MORE
TURKEY COOPERATES WITH KOREA TO DEVELOP A NATIONAL MAIN BATTLE TANK
Turkey continues to announce new armament programs that involve the development and production of a “Turkish brand” of major weapons systems. On July 29, under a technology cooperation deal signed between Turkey and South Korea (ROK), Turkey initiated a $500 million project for the design,... MORE
PRIME MINISTER DOMINATES ECONOMIC, FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY
The recent controversy surrounding the coal and steel producer Mechel has sparked speculation about a rift between President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. In a meeting with metals tycoons in Nizhny Novgorod on July 24, Putin accused Mechel of selling coking coal, one... MORE