Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
The Turkey-IMF Stand-By Accord: a Never-Ending Symphony?
The Turkish government’s handling of the economic crisis continues to draw criticism. Business leaders and investors have been insisting that urgent measures are needed to protect the economy. An expert from Moody’s maintained that without a new IMF program, Turkey could face recession in one... MORE
Armenia Scrambling To Cushion the Effects of the Global Economic Crisis
Armenia’s decade-long economic recovery seems to be slowing down due to the increasingly visible effects of the global financial and economic crisis. The authorities in Yerevan are scrambling to minimize them by boosting government involvement in business activity and seeking hundreds of millions of dollars... MORE
Ukraine Continues To Knock on the West’s Doors but Looks Back to Russia
Kyiv has suffered several setbacks in its Euro-Atlantic integration plans. The European Union came up with a collective plan for Ukraine and several other post-Soviet states that does not give Ukraine the prospect of EU membership. NATO refrained from offering a Membership Action Plan (MAP),... MORE
OSCE’s Year-End Conference Continues Pattern of Failure
The OSCE’s Finnish chairmanship fell between two stools at the organization’s year-end conference on December 4 and 5 in Helsinki. Despite Russia’s recent invasion of Georgia, a chairmanship overly eager to produce a final political declaration by consensus gave in to Russia on basic issues... MORE
AKP’s Dilemma: How To Accommodate Alevi Demands Within the State Structure
Since the "Grand Alevi Rally” organized by Alevi Bektasi Federation (ABF) on November 10, the Alevi question has been dominating public debate in Turkey. It appears that the Sunni segments of society, secular and religious alike, mostly welcome moderate Alevi demands, although the Alevis themselves... MORE
Kyrgyz Security Structures Plagued by Corruption
In an effort to allay fears of rising Islamic extremism in Kyrgyzstan, Secretary of the Kyrgyz Security Council Adakhan Madumarov has held several meetings with residents of Nookat, Kara-Su, and Uzgen districts in southern Osh Region. Unrest in Nookat District on the October 1 Eid... MORE
Ukrainian and Georgian ANPs Are Also Testing NATO
The NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on December 3 announced that Albania and Croatia were now completing their Membership Action Plans (MAPs) and would be welcomed at the NATO Summit in April 2009 as new members of the alliance. The ministerial communiqué takes note of... MORE
From MAPs to ANPs: the Background to NATO’s Compromise Decision
NATO’s ministerial meeting on December 3 decided to offer Annual National Plans (ANPs), instead of Membership Action Plans (MAPs), to Georgia and Ukraine. The old NATO-Ukraine Commission and the new NATO-Georgia Commission are to draw up and administer the ANPs (see EDM, December 5). A... MORE
Dostum Says He Is Not in Exile in Turkey and Remains a Potent Force in Afghanistan
A Turkish newspaper has reported that Rashid Dostum, the leader of ethnic Uzbeks in Afghanistan, was flown to Turkey as part of a special operation arranged by the Turkish government. The report maintained that Dostum might be sent into exile by the Afghan government as... MORE
Russia, LNG, and the U.S. Natural Gas Market
In 2006, when oil and natural gas prices began steadily climbing, Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom announced that it had ambitions to become a leading Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supplier to the enormous U.S. gas market. Gazprom and its Kremlin masters were eager to claim... MORE