Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
TEHRAN LOOKS TO DUSHANBE TO PROMOTE IRAN’S ROLE IN CENTRAL ASIA
Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon has further deepened bilateral relations with Iran. During his visit to Tehran on February 9-10, he signed three main agreements relating to energy and transport cooperation. However, the bilateral talks also included meetings between the defense ministers and other officials, signaling... MORE
PUTIN AND MEDVEDEV SPEECHES SUGGEST THE FORMER WILL BE CALLING THE SHOTS
President Vladimir Putin’s February 8 speech on Russia’s development strategy through to 2020 and his final annual president press conference on February 14, together with the speech that his designated successor, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, delivered to the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum on February... MORE
LUKOIL REDUCES OIL SUPPLIES TO GERMANY, AGAIN
Russia’s Lukoil has halted oil supplies to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline for the remainder of February and “until further notice.” This is the third interruption in Russian oil deliveries by pipeline to Germany in the space of 13 months. Russia’s pipeline monopoly Transneft halted... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S CHIEF OF STAFF RESIGNS, MAY LAUNCH NEW PARTY
Viktor Baloha, the head of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko’s staff, has left Yushchenko’s Our Ukraine–People’s Union party (NSNU). Baloha apparently gave up on making NSNU a reliable, strong political party capable of winning national elections. It is widely expected that Baloha will launch a new... MORE
TURKEY RECOGNIZES KOSOVA OVER RUSSIAN PROTESTS
Yesterday, February 19, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan began a two-day official visit to Russia. The trip comes on the heels of Ankara’s recognition of Kosova’s declaration of independence, made the previous day. Underlining the complexities of Turkish-Russian relations, Babacan released a statement noting that... MORE
KOSOVAR INDEPENDENCE RECOGNIZED, RUSSIA’S BLUFF CALLED IN ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA
On February 17 Kosova declared officially its independence from Serbia. On February 18 the United States and several major European countries recognized Kosova as an independent state. More than 20 (out of 27) European Union member countries are prepared to extend recognition. Russia anticipated this... MORE
NAZARBAYEV’S MESSAGE TO HIS PEOPLE FUELS CONTROVERSIES
The most salient features of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s February 6 address to the nation, presented at a joint session of government and parliament and broadcast on two national television channels, were its brevity and poor delivery. Occasionally interlacing his discourse in Russian with passages... MORE
TURKEY THROWS ITS WEIGHT BEHIND NABUCCO
The European Union has intensified its efforts to turn the Nabucco pipeline project into a reality, now that Turkey has pledged to throw its weight behind the project. Due to its geographical proximity to the suppliers, Turkey is a linchpin in the network, which is... MORE
TURKISH MILITARY SET TO WARN AKP OVER HEADSCARF
The Turkish military is expected to use the opportunity provided by the National Security Council (NSC) meeting on Thursday, February 21, to issue a strongly worded warning to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government over its attempts to lift the headscarf ban in universities... MORE
RUSSIA-UKRAINE GAS RELATIONS: MURKY AFTER PUTIN-YUSHCHENKO MEETING
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine have agreed on a reshuffling of the cards in Russia-Ukraine gas relations. During Yushchenko’s February 12-13 visit to Moscow (see EDM, February 14) the two presidents adopted on a personal basis what Yushchenko termed “tactical... MORE