Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
MONGOLIAN PRIME MINISTER MEETS WITH RUSSIANS; DISCUSSES FOOD SHORTAGES
While the Mongolian People’s Republic shed its socialist Communist political straitjacket in 1990, the Mongolian “ulus” (nation) has remained divided by geography as a part of the new “Great Game,” with independent Mongolia remaining heavily under Russian influence, while the Peoples Republic of China retains... MORE
IS THE END OF THE BSEC IN SIGHT?
On April 17 the organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) held its 18th meeting of members’ foreign ministers in Kiev, Ukraine. The only countries to send their foreign ministers to the meeting, however, were Turkey and Ukraine. All of the other BSEC 10... MORE
IS PUTIN’S ACCESSION AS UNITED RUSSIA LEADER AN ACT OF DESPERATION?
Observers have had nearly a week to analyze the significance of outgoing President Vladimir Putin’s agreement to serve as leader of the United Russia party, a position in which he will serve concurrently with the post of prime minister, which he is expected to assume... MORE
MOSCOW HAS LITTLE SUCCESS IN EXPANDING ITS ROLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
With the NATO problem deferred and only two weeks to go in the office, President Putin has shifted his attention to a region that is also a major point of U.S. attention--the Middle East. Monitoring the preparations for President George W. Bush's visit to the... MORE
RUSSIA FACES DELAYS IN FAR EASTERN PIPELINE
The Kremlin apparently viewed the Eastern Siberia Pacific Oil Pipeline (ESPO) as a major vehicle to promote faster growth of Russia's Far Eastern regions. However, the major energy project appears to be taking longer than expected. Earlier this month, the first completed 238-kilometer section of... MORE
FORMER CONSTITUTIONAL COURT PRESIDENT, TURKISH MILITARY DENY COUP THREAT
On April 18 Tulay Tugcu, the former head of Turkey’s Constitutional Court, issued a statement refuting allegations that the Turkish military had pressured the court by threatening to stage a coup unless it annulled the results of the parliamentary vote to appoint the country’s next... MORE
RUSSIA MOVES TOWARD OPEN ANNEXATION OF ABKHAZIA, SOUTH OSSETIA
On April 16 Russia’s outgoing president Vladimir Putin signed a decree authorizing direct official relations between Russian government bodies and the secessionist authorities in Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The decree also treats as valid the secessionist authorities’ “legislation” in the respective territories, which looks... MORE
BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION PREPARES FOR CHERNOBYL MARCH
April 26 has traditionally been the date of the biggest opposition protest march in Minsk. In 1996, on the tenth anniversary of the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, more than 50,000 people took part in an event besmirched by violence and the arrest of more than... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN AND MONGOLIA BROADEN RELATIONS
Since 1991 Kazakhstan has become one of the world’s rising petro-states. If current development plans are implemented, Kazakhstan’s current 1.3 million barrels per day (BPD) output will rise to 2.7 million by 2020. While the most of Kazakhstan’s output is currently shipped to the world... MORE
TURKISH RELATIONS IMPROVE WITH IRAN BUT ARE SHAKY WITH IRAQ
On April 17 Turkey and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to increase cooperation on security issues. The agreement came during the 12th meeting of the Turkey-Iran High Security Commission, which began in Ankara on April 14 (see EDM, April 14). Although the details... MORE