Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
A TRAP FOR MEDVEDEV IN THE TNK-BP CONFLICT
Political salons in Moscow are bubbling with rumors about President Dmitry Medvedev’s liberal agenda, but in a peculiar way, with Russia’s sports victories in ice hockey and football adding credibility to these expectations. Medvedev himself generates new hope daily, meeting tirelessly with all sorts of... MORE
THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE IN UKRAINE–RESURRECTING THE PAST
The Kremlin has once again raised the hoary issue of the rights of Russian language speakers in Ukraine, apparently as part of its campaign to make Russian the official lingua franca of the CIS and to apply more pressure on its neighbor during a time... MORE
AZERBAIJAN GEARS UP FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Azerbaijani politicians and political parties are actively discussing amendments to the Election Code. These changes will lay a foundation for the conduct of elections from this year on. The parliament has discussed and approved these changes: henceforth, the campaign period for the presidential elections will... MORE
TURKEY’S GAMBLE BETWEEN IRAN AND THE UNITED STATES
On June 23 the European Union approved new sanctions against Iran, including freezing the assets of the country's biggest bank, Bank Melli, which is suspected of providing services to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and was blacklisted by the United States last year. The... MORE
CRITICS TARGET DECISION TO LET STABILIZATION FUND INVEST IN RUSSIAN SECURITIES
Last week President Dmitry Medvedev gave Russia’s Finance Ministry and Central Bank until October 1 to draft proposals on the investment strategy of the country’s Stabilization Fund. In February of this year, the fund, which was created in 2004 as a reserve to ensure that... MORE
HIGH-LEVEL NATO DELEGATION IN OUTREACH VISIT TO UKRAINE
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer headed a delegation of the North Atlantic Council (NAC), the alliance’s standing decision-making body in Brussels, comprising the 26 member countries’ ambassadors, on a visit to Ukraine on June 16 and 17. The visit was the first high-level... MORE
GAZPROM’S MOVE ON ABKHAZIA: MORE REASONS FOR GEORGIA TO BLOCK RUSSIA’S WTO ACCESSION
Russia’s Gazprom has announced its intention to launch exploration for oil and gas in Abkhazia on July 1, apparently offshore in the Black Sea. According to a notice just circulated by Gazprom’s board, the June 27 shareholders’ meeting will discuss plans by Gazprom, its subsidiary... MORE
PARTY CLOSURES AND MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS MAY ALL OCCUR IN FALL
On June 20 the Democratic Society Party (DTP) requested and received extra time to prepare its defense in the closure case it faces. The closure case against the DTP was launched by Chief Public Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya in November 2007. The DTP stands accused of... MORE
BELARUS-RUSSIA SUMMIT: PERSPECTIVES
The press services of the presidencies of Russia and Belarus have announced that the leaders of these countries, Dmitry Medvedev and Alyaksandr Lukashenka, will meet in Brest on June 22. It will be the first bilateral meeting of the two presidents. Reportedly, the meeting is... MORE
KHOROG RESIDENTS PROTEST AGAINST CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
On June 18, residents of Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) staged protests in Khorog, the oblast's administrative center. Some 300 people demanded that the government withdraw troops that were dispatched to the oblast a few days ago to capture field commanders from the 1992 to... MORE