Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
HISTORIANS DEBATE 1918 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN BELARUS
On March 25, opposition demonstrators marked the 90th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Belarusian National (People’s) Republic (BNR). The crowd was estimated at several thousand and refused to be confined to the officially sanctioned route from the National Academy of Sciences to... MORE
SBU ACCUSED OF PLAYING POLITICAL GAMES IN KHARKIV
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has become embroiled in a new scandal. The main opposition force, the Party of Regions (PRU), has accused the SBU of playing political games after SBU servicemen carried out a controversial search at the Kharkiv City Council. Although the... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN MARKS THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF TULIP REVOLUTION, BUT WITHOUT BAKIYEV
On Monday, March 24, Kyrgyzstan officially celebrated the third anniversary of the Tulip Revolution. While the day is officially commemorated as a national holiday, for the majority of the public it merely marks the change of political regimes, from one corrupt leader – former president... MORE
TURKMENISTAN WARMS TO TURKEY, BUT MAKES NO PLEDGE FOR GAS SUPPLIES
Turkey, located in the middle of the East-West energy corridor, and natural-gas-rich Turkmenistan have recently improved their relations after almost seven years without any high-level dialogue. This development has raised hopes for the revitalization of the long stalled, U.S.-backed Trans-Caspian pipeline (TCP) project aimed at... MORE
RUSSIA’S PRESIDENT-ELECT SPEAKS TO FINANCIAL TIMES
Russian observers are mulling the significance of Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Britain’s Financial Times newspaper, particularly his comments about how he views his future role and how he will work with President Vladimir Putin, who has agreed to serve as his prime minister. In the... MORE
NATO MEMBERSHIP ACTION PLANS: “NOT IF BUT WHEN”?
Ahead of NATO’s April 2-4 Bucharest Summit, the alliance is preoccupied with maintaining the principles on which it interacts with aspirant countries. The core principles may be summed up as: the open door, membership action plans on the road to that open door, merit-based assessment... MORE
AZERBAIJAN’S RELATIONS WITH MINSK GROUP HIT NEW LOW
Azerbaijanis have long distrusted the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk group, co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States. All three countries have large Armenian diasporas and are considered to favor Armenians in the Karabakh conflict. Many Azerbaijanis accuse the Minsk group... MORE
TURKEY RISKS LOSING INTERNATIONAL FUNDS FOR ILISU DAM
When covering Turkey’s complex relationship with its Kurdish minority, Western media outlets have tended to focus on the military activities in southeastern Anatolia against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The reality is much more complex, however. For nearly 40 years Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP)... MORE
EXTRANEOUS CONSIDERATIONS IN THE WAY OF GEORGIAN AND UKRAINIAN MAPS AT THE NATO SUMMIT
In on-the-record interventions and, especially, at off-the-record policy conferences, German officials lay out a whole collection of arguments against Membership Action Plans (MAPs) for Georgia and Ukraine at the upcoming NATO summit. Several West European governments share some of those arguments to some degree or... MORE
RUSSIA’S GAZPROMNEFT PLANS CRUDE OUTPUT HIKE
Russia's state-run oil firm, GazpromNeft, has disclosed ambitious plans to hike its oil production level, which would require taking over new assets. In its drive toward becoming the country's leading oil firm, GazpromNeft appears to be relying on its parent company Gazprom, currently chaired by... MORE