Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
TURKEY COMPLETES A MAJOR STEP IN THE MARMARAY PROJECT
Turkish engineers swelled with pride when the first Bogazici Koprusu (Bosporus Bridge) opened in 1973, spanning Istanbul's historic channel between Asia and Europe. When opened, it was the longest suspension bridge outside the U.S. It was followed 15 years later by the Fatih Sultan Mehmet... MORE
RUSSIA DISCARDS ITS “PEACEKEEPING” OPERATION IN ABKHAZIA
At the CIS summit in Bishkek on October 9 and 10, Russia announced the termination of the “CIS collective peacekeeping operation in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone.” Moscow describes its move as a common decision of the assembled heads of state and government, in a final... MORE
RUSSIA COUNTS ITS BLESSINGS IN THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
A distinct note of triumph is entering the statements of Russian officials on the scale and possible consequences of the global economic crisis. It is President Dmitri Medvedev who was doing most of the talking last week, while his “senior partner” Prime Minister Vladimir Putin... MORE
ARMENIA, GEORGIA TO BOOST ECONOMIC TIES AFTER SOUTH OSSETIA WAR
Armenia and Georgia have pledged to strengthen their commercial and other links in hopes of overcoming the negative economic consequences facing both South Caucasus states after the recent Russian-Georgian war. Tbilisi has also officially expressed its overall satisfaction with Yerevan’s neutrality in the conflict. Armenia,... MORE
TURKEY BITES THE BULLET
On October 10 the Turkish government announced that it was preparing to initiate a long-term dialogue with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in an attempt to increase pressure on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), whose main camps and bases are located in the mountains of... MORE
HUNGARY’S MOL WINS FUEL MARKET SHARE IN CENTRAL EUROPE
Hungary’s MOL energy company is advancing its organic development and regional consolidation in the gas and oil product sectors. The privately owned MOL is now free to focus on those strategies after defeating a hostile takeover attempt from Austria’s partly state-controlled OMV conglomerate. OMV finally... MORE
TURKMENISTAN BUILDS ON ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH LATVIA
Since the death of "Turkmenbashi" President for life Saparmurat Niyazov on December 21, 2006, Western governments and energy companies have been falling over themselves to be in on the development of Turkmenistan's vast natural gas reserves, estimated to be the fourth or fifth largest in... MORE
ARMENIA IN NEED OF AN ALTERNATIVE EXPORT-IMPORT ROUTE
Although talks of establishing security in the Caucasus had been underway for months, the crisis in Georgia underscored a sense of urgency at the September 26 trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. Eduard Nalbandian, Ali Babacan, and Elmar Mammadyarov met... MORE
TURKEY PRESSING AHEAD WITH SECOND NUCLEAR TENDER
On October 9 Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler predicted that the evaluation of the winning bid in Turkey’s first nuclear power plant tender at Akkuyu on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast would be completed by the end of October. He added that the government was currently working... MORE
THE FINANCIAL CRISIS MAY CURTAIL KREMLIN PLANS FOR MODERNIZING ARMED FORCES
On September 15 President Dmitry Medvedev announced ambitious plans to rearm and modernize Russia’s armed forces. Medvedev announced that by 2020 Russia had to guarantee continued nuclear deterrence as well as precision attack capability on land and sea (See EDM, October 3). Indeed, by 2020... MORE