Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
RESPONDING TO GEORGIA CRISIS, TURKEY SEEKS NEW CAUCASUS SECURITY INITIATIVE
The Georgian-Russian military conflict has created new security dilemmas in the South Caucasus. Not only has the fragile stability established since the chaos of 1990s been ruined, but the East-West energy and transportation corridor has also been made vulnerable. Turkey, as one of the largest... MORE
NATO MINISTERIAL MEETING DEALS GINGERLY WITH RUSSIA’S WAR ON GEORGIA
For an organization that has come to rely heavily on words and symbolism, NATO issued a disconcertingly evasive communiqué at its emergency meeting on Georgia (NAC Statement, August 19). The North Atlantic Council held a “special session” at the level of Foreign Ministers in Brussels... MORE
RUSSIA NULLIFIES FRENCH-BROKERED ARMISTICE IN GEORGIA
The Kremlin has already nullified the agreement on cessation of hostilities in Georgia, which French President Nicolas Sarkozy had brokered with Presidents Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow and Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi on August 12-13 (see EDM, August 13, 18). Russia has junked the six-point agreement... MORE
BEYOND SOUTH OSSETIA AND ABKHAZIA: MORE RUSSIAN NIBBLING AT GEORGIAN TERRITORY?
While breaching its six obligations under the French-brokered armistice agreement, Russia is using the same agreement’s loopholes to justify the continuing military occupation and vandalization of Georgian territories (see EDM, August 13, 18). Moscow demands the creation of a Russian-controlled “security zone” farther south from... MORE
RUSSIA PREPARING TO SPLINTER GEORGIA AFTER SARKOZY-BROKERED ARMISTICE
The Kremlin is not honoring the French-brokered agreement on cessation of hostilities and troop withdrawal from Georgia. Russian troops are roaming and rampaging at will through parts of Georgia and are preparing to seize chunks of its territory for the long term. Meanwhile, Russia brandishes... MORE
KYIV ON GEORGIA: DIPLOMACY AWKWARD, PARTIES DIVIDED
Kyiv was among the first capitals to define its stance clearly in the early stages of the conflict in South Ossetia. Deputy Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Yeliseyev was the first high-ranking foreign official to arrive in Georgia on a peacemaking mission. While the West was slow... MORE
TURKMEN WIND POWER
Since the death of Turkmenistan’s “president for life” Saparmurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov on December 21, 2006, energy companies from both East and West have been falling over themselves to get a piece of the action by signing agreements with his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov, to develop Turkmenistan’s... MORE
KYRGYZ NGOS REJECT GOVERNMENT’S CRITICISM
Following the Tulip Revolution on March 24, 2005, and amid continuous political instability in the country, Kyrgyz political leaders habitually accuse local non-government organizations for their dependence on foreign financing. Some politicians see local civil society groups cooperating with foreign donors as an encroachment on... MORE
THE NEW MILITARY LEADERSHIP AND CIVILIAN-MILITARY RELATIONS IN TURKEY
In its last meeting the Supreme Military Council selected General Ilker Basbug as the new Chief of General Staff of Turkish military (August 3). As a son of Macedonian immigrants, Basbug was born in a central Anatolian town of Afyon in 1943 and following his... MORE
ARE PUTIN AND MEDVEDEV AT ODDS OVER THE GEORGIAN CAMPAIGN?
With President Dmitry Medvedev having ordered a halt to Russia’s military assault on Georgia and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili agreeing to the general principles of a cease-fire plan negotiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian observers have begun assessing the results and impact of the... MORE