Gas reserves at Azerbaijan’s Shah-Deniz field would amply suffice for the Nabucco pipeline’s first commercial phase, from 2013 onward. However, investors would expect second-phase supplies to be reliably identified by the time construction work starts on the pipeline’s first phase. The start of construction is... MORE

The Kyrgyz Interior Ministry intends to ban public prayers at the central square in Bishkek during Islamic holidays. The ministry’s main rationale for its decision is that because Kyrgyzstan is a secular state, religion should be everyone’s private business as opposed to state-sanctioned public events.... MORE

Despite its failed attempt last year to prevent Abdullah Gul from being appointed president, the Turkish military remains the most trusted institution in the country, according to the latest Eurobarometer opinion poll conducted for the European Commission. On April 27, 2007, the Turkish General Staff... MORE

After rather a calm year in 2007, conflict over Karabakh is once again emerging as a primary foreign policy focus in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Last year, Azerbaijani and Armenian politicians, as well as international mediators, struggled to find a breakthrough in the peace talks... MORE

Tajikistan’s defense and security structures, traditionally heavily influenced by Russian methods and Moscow’s assistance, depend on fresh intakes of Tajik conscripts to maintain their manpower levels. Potential conscripts are exposed to Russian military culture even before coming in contact with military recruiting centers or responding... MORE

An angry confrontation outside the headquarters of the ultranationalist Nationalist Action Party (MHP) appears to have signaled the end of one of the longest platonic love affairs in Turkish politics. On February 5 the representatives of a number of associations representing retired military personnel attempted... MORE

The members of President Vladimir Putin’s administration who are also the heads of state corporations are running again for re-election to the boards of those companies, which will have the effect of maintaining state control – and, perhaps more importantly, control by members of Putin’s... MORE

The Georgian president, parliament leadership, and government are engaged in a dialogue with opposition leaders about legislative changes in the run-up to the parliamentary elections. One immediate goal of the authorities is to defuse the potential for confrontation and destabilization that this group of opposition... MORE