Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
WHO IS REALLY TO BLAME FOR RECORD-HIGH INFLATION IN UKRAINE?
Inflation in Ukraine was 3.1 percent in April and 13.1 percent from January through April. This was the highest inflation rate of any former Soviet state, twice as high as in Russia. The Yulia Tymoshenko government drafted the state budget for 2008 based on the... MORE
TALKS ON NORTHERN CYPRUS RESUME
The issue of northern Cyprus has roiled Ankara’s foreign policy ever since July 20, 1974, when Turkey invaded the northern region of the island in “Operation Atilla,” a combined land, air and sea operation. More than 30 years after the incursion, which effectively divided the... MORE
MOSCOW MAYOR, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER QUESTION RUSSIA-UKRAINE AGREEMENTS ON SEVASTOPOL
Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov called for the “return” of Sevastopol to Russia during a visit to that Ukrainian territory, on the anniversary of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry implicitly backed Luzhkov in a follow-up statement; and Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov,... MORE
TURKMENISTAN STAGES MILITARY EXERCISES
Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov attended the high profile Galken 2008 military exercises held in the Kelete training range on May 5. Turkmenistan conducted these exercises with an “antiterrorist dimension” both to boost its international image as a neutral country taking the threat of terrorism seriously... MORE
AZERBAIJAN JOINS THE MIDDLE EAST
Azerbaijan's massive hydrocarbon resources have begun to attract the attention of an increasing number of energy-poor nations in the Middle East, including Israel and Jordan. While the logistical problems involved in such deliveries would be daunting, as no direct pipelines currently exist, the diplomatic intricacies... MORE
DTP FORMS NEW PARTY IN PREPARATION FOR LIKELY CLOSURE
The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) has formed a new political party in preparation for its likely closure by the Turkish Constitutional Court later this year. On May 9, 42 Kurdish politicians with links to the DTP formally applied to the Turkish Interior Ministry to... MORE
UNCONVENTIONAL GAS EXTRACTION IN HUNGARY
Hungary’s MOL oil and gas company has entered into a partnership with ExxonMobil of the United States and Falcon Oil & Gas of British Columbia, Canada, to develop the gas deposits in Hungary’s Mako Trough. With this project, North American energy companies are directly entering... MORE
HOW LONG CAN MEDVEDEV AND PUTIN SHARE POWER?
The key policy speech in Russia since Dmitry Medvedev’s inauguration as president on May 7 and his appointment of Vladimir Putin as his prime minister the following day was made not by the new head of state but by Putin. In a speech to the... MORE
WILL PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV’S FIRST CRISIS BE GEORGIA?
Everything worked in perfect synch at President Dmitry Medvedev’s inauguration and at the Victory Day parade on Red Square, which gave the pompous ceremony a powerful conclusion. The heavy military that rolled through Moscow for the first time since the Soviet era perhaps provided some... MORE
TURKS BECOMING MORE PESSIMISTIC AND INTROSPECTIVE
Turks are becoming increasingly pessimistic and introspective according to a recent survey by the A & G research company, which was published in Milliyet (May 9-10). The survey, which was conducted on April 26 and 27 in 33 provinces across the country, found that only... MORE