Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
TURKEY REVERSES COURSE AND JOINS FRENCH-LED TALKS ON MEDITERRANEAN UNION
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s goal of reasserting French influence in international affairs took a new turn with the ascendance of France to the EU presidency. Shortly after assuming the rotating presidency of the EU, France launched, through a spectacular gathering of 44 countries, a project... MORE
CONVICTION OF RUSSIAN BLOGGER: HARBINGER OF A WIDER ON-LINE CRACKDOWN?
Last week, a blogger in the Komi Republic was convicted of “inciting hatred or enmity.” Some observers fear that the case sets a dangerous precedent for curtailing freedom of speech on the Internet. Other observers have gone farther, predicting that the authorities are planning to... MORE
GAZPROM ON A SHOPPING SPREE FOR GAS
Gazprom has embarked on a grand shopping tour for gas. Although Russia is the world’s largest gas producer and exporter, the Kremlin seeks to maximize gas imports into Russia from other producer countries. This effort is accelerating under the recently inaugurated President Dmitry Medvedev, who... MORE
ROSNEFT SEEKS STRONGER CHINESE CONNECTION
Russia's state-run oil company Rosneft pledged to move ahead with its plans to invest in China. The company conceded, however, that it had struggled to reach an agreement with the Chinese on the crude export price. Rosneft pledged to finalize a feasibility study of its... MORE
ABDULLATIF SENER: A DIVISIVE FACTOR OR THE NEW POLITICAL LEADER OF TURKEY?
As the decision of the Constitutional Court on whether the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) should be shut down gets closer, new political figures have started forming alternatives. The expectation that the constitutional court will shut down the AKP has led various politicians to... MORE
“DE-RECOGNITION” OF GEORGIA’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY DISQUALIFIES RUSSIA AS “PEACEKEEPER”
Russia has practically ceased to recognize Georgia’s territorial integrity. International organizations are as usual behind the curve in taking note of this development and drawing the conclusions from it. Russia had paid lip service to Georgia’s territorial integrity throughout the duration of the conflicts in... MORE
HUNGARY’S MOL DRIVING REGIONAL CONSOLIDATION IN OIL AND GAS SECTOR
Hungary’s energy company MOL has initiated the construction of gas pipeline interconnections with Romania and Croatia. Concurrently, MOL is edging out its competitors in oil refining and fuel marketing in the region, most recently in Croatia. On July 3 in Zagreb, MOL’s gas transmission subsidiary... MORE
MONGOLIA HOLDS KHAN QUEST MILITARY EXERCISE
Since Mongolia abandoned Communism in 1990, it has sought to maintain its independence, sandwiched as it is between the two giant neighbors, Russia and China, by discreetly reaching out to the west and the United States in particular. While Mongolia has observer status in the... MORE
ERDOGAN PAYS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO IRAQ
On July 10 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Baghdad in the first official visit to Iraq by a Turkish head of government since 1990 and only the second by a regional leader since the U.S. invasion and occupation of the country in... MORE
RUSSIAN TANKS WILL BE EQUIPPED WITH FRENCH IR TV
It was announced this week that two top Russian generals have been ousted: the chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff Alexander Rukshin and the chief of Armed Forces Communications Eugeny Karpov. It was reported that the resignation of the Chief of... MORE