Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
THE WEST CAN RESPOND MORE EFFECTIVELY TO RUSSIA’S ASSAULT ON GEORGIA: PART III
International silence about the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia is a striking feature of the continuing debate on the Russia-Georgia conflict. Moscow’s overt moves in recent days to annex Abkhazia politically and militarily capitalize on that ethnic cleansing and would render it irreversible. The... MORE
WILL RUSSIA BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN ITS OIL PRODUCTION AT CURRENT LEVELS?
In his inaugural remarks, the new Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated that the country had sufficient resources to pursue its dynamic economic development. This optimistic statement came, however, against a background of continued debates about whether Russia could sustain its current production levels of crude... MORE
LUKASHENKA SPEECH DENOUNCES OPPOSITION, WARNS THE U.S.
On April 29 Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka delivered a speech to the National Assembly on the "health" of the state that was wide ranging and more than two hours in duration. Although the speech covered a number of topics, its chief interest lies in his... MORE
POSSIBLE RAPPROCHEMENT BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY
Among the “frozen conflicts” left over from the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, the economic implications of Armenia’s 1988 to 1994 conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh are perhaps the most striking, as Armenia’s economy has until recently stumbled along while Azerbaijan’s has soared,... MORE
THE WEST CAN RESPOND MORE EFFECTIVELY TO RUSSIA’S ASSAULT ON GEORGIA: PART II
Russia has openly recognized politically and “legally” (in terms of Russian law) the secessions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia and has capped that recognition with acts of military aggression in Georgian territory and air space. This is the cumulative meaning of Russia’s recent... MORE
OLD WEAPONS ON RED SQUARE
On May 5 a dress rehearsal for the military parade to be held on Red Square on May 9 paralyzed traffic for many hours in central Moscow, as tanks and missile launchers moved through the city. This was a full dress rehearsal with up to... MORE
PRIVATIZATION OF KYRGYZSTAN’S HYDROPOWER SECTOR TAKES PLACE AMID UNCERTAINTY
Since January Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Prime Minister Igor Chudinov, and Minister of Energy Saparbek Balkibekov have been extensively promoting privatization of Kyrgyzstan’s hydropower sector. Little information about potential investors in the sector or the privatization conditions, however, has been revealed to the public. Even... MORE
TURKEY BRACES FOR THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF AN ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
In a recent interview in the Financial Times United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Kemal Dervis warned that Turkey was one of the countries likely to suffer the most from what he called an “inflation tsunami” (Financial Times, May 7). His remarks have heightened concerns... MORE
THE WEST RESPONDS WEAKLY TO RUSSIAN CHALLENGES IN GEORGIA: PART I
On May 6 the Bush administration issued the strongest Western statements thus far in response to Russia’s overt seizure of Abkhazia. Blaming the Russian government for its “provocative actions that have increased tensions with Georgia [and] significantly and unnecessarily heightened tensions in the region,” White... MORE
EXPERTS PONDER THE FUTURE OF THE NEW RULING DIARCHY
With Dmitry Medvedev having been sworn in as Russia’s new president and outgoing President Vladimir Putin poised to take up the role of prime minister and leader of the ruling United Russia party, Russian observers continue to ponder the prospects for the new Medvedev-Putin diarchy.... MORE