Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT INCREASES HYDROPOWER PRICES AMID HIGH INFLATION
Following an exceptionally cold winter that made hydropower resources scarce and led to frequent rolling blackouts throughout Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov announced the government’s plans to increase prices for electricity by 13 percent and water by 20 percent. The Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek... MORE
THE AKP SCRABBLES FOR AN ANTI-CLOSURE STRATEGY
On April 7 the National Executive Committee of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) held a six-hour meeting to discuss the party’s response to the closure case filed with the country’s constitutional court by Public Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya (see EDM, April 1). Speaking after... MORE
NATO MAKES POLITICAL COMMITMENT TO UKRAINIAN, GEORGIAN MEMBERSHIP
At its Bucharest summit, NATO postponed a decision on approving Membership Action Plans (MAPs) for Ukraine and Georgia; but it gave the two countries much more than immediate MAPs. The Alliance committed itself clearly--albeit without a deadline--to the political and strategic goal of Ukrainian and... MORE
KREMLIN CRITICS SAY POLITICAL REFORM MUST COME FIRST
President-elect Dmitriy Medvedev continued to sound liberal themes last week, telling an a forum devoted to the Internet held in Gorky-10 outside Moscow on April 3 that the answer to “the delicate question of the relationship between freedom of speech and responsibility” in cyberspace “is... MORE
GAZPROM EXPANDS STATE GRIP ON ENERGY ASSETS
As Russia's gas giant Gazprom moved closer to acquisition of the giant Kovykta gas field in Eastern Siberia's Irkutsk region, the deal was seen as yet another sign of the government's drive towards further boosting the state grip on the energy assets. Russia's TNK-BP indicated... MORE
BUYUKANIT WARNS AGAINST ISLAMISM AND KURDISH SEPARATISM, ATTACKS EU OVER POLICIES ON ESDP AND PKK
General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), has publicly warned that Turkey remains under threat from Islamism and Kurdish separatism, while attacking the EU over the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) and individual member states for their alleged support of... MORE
UKRAINIAN AND GEORGIAN MEMBERSHIP PROSPECTS INTENSELY DEBATED AT NATO SUMMIT
Midway through the NATO summit in Bucharest on April 2 to 4, Germany and France seemed to have blocked the approval of Membership Action Plans for Ukraine and Georgia (MAPs). The summit representatives have until April 4 to agree on substitute language regarding Ukraine’s and... MORE
NATO DEBATES ON UKRAINE AND GEORGIA ADD CLARITY ABOUT RUSSIA
NATO Membership Action Plans are, in essence, technical processes. With the Ukrainian and Georgian MAPs delayed, the Alliance must now address a broader issue of strategic policy regarding the position of Ukraine and Georgia in Europe and their relationship with NATO from this point onward.... MORE
CENTRAL ASIAN LEADERS SIGNAL SUPPORT FOR NATO CORRIDOR TO AFGHANISTAN
NATO's 59th annual gathering is a glittering affair with an ambitious agenda. According to the media group on NATO, security leaders from NATO's 26 member states were joined by representatives from an additional 23 nations involved in NATO's Partnership for Peace program (Rompress, April 2).... MORE
HOPES FADE FOR TURKISH WATER AS A STRATEGIC ASSET
A recent report in the business daily Referans suggests that Turkey’s hopes of using its water resources as a strategic asset to strengthen its ties with the Middle East countries are likely to be frustrated. The latest figures suggest that as the result of a... MORE