Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
WILL PACE ELEVATE THE MAIN OFFENDER TO ITS PRESIDENCY?
Kremlin-connected politician Mikhail Margelov’s bid for the presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is beginning to run into trouble. It is not yet the done deal that Margelov’s supporters at and near the top of PACE’s leadership had hoped --... MORE
UPROAR OVER ANDIJAN FADES AS EU WARMS TO TASHKENT
On October 17 European Union foreign ministers agreed to lift travel restrictions against Uzbek Defense Minister Ruslan Mirzayev, National Security chief Rustam Inoyatov, and six others, saying it was "with a view to encouraging the Uzbek authorities to take positive steps to improve the human... MORE
WITHOUT HEIR, KARIMOV LIKELY TO STAND FOR RE-ELECTION
Uzbekistan’s Central Election Committee has announced that a presidential election will be held on December 23. According to Article 8 of the law on presidential elections, parliament is to approve the decision to hold an election three months before the president’s term in office ends... MORE
CASPIAN SUMMIT ENVISIONS CREATION OF REGIONAL INSTITUTIONS
At their summit in Tehran (see EDM, October 17), the presidents of the five Caspian countries’ agreed tentatively and in general terms to create an institutional framework for regional cooperation on economic, legal, and some security issues. The presidents, who had not met since 2002... MORE
RUSSIA PLEDGES ECONOMIC AID, MAY GET STAKE IN KYRGYZ DEFENSE INDUSTRY
Russian officials have announced plans to strengthen economic relations with Kyrgyzstan. Speaking at an October 12 session of the intergovernmental Russian-Kyrgyz Commission for Trade, Economic, and Technical Cooperation, Russian atomic energy chief Sergei Kiriyenko announced that bilateral trade is due to reach $1 billion in... MORE
MARCHING TO EUROPE IN BELARUS
On October 14, about 7,000 people took part in the European March for Freedom in Minsk. Participants demanded the fulfillment of 12 conditions set forth by the European Union as a precondition for the Belarusian government to become involved in the European Neighborhood Policy. Surprisingly,... MORE
POLITICAL FORCES COUNT DOWN TO KYRGYZ CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM
This week Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced that he would chair his newly formed electoral bloc, Ak Zhol, which unites all major pro-presidential political parties. Bakiyev’s bloc will be the frontrunner in the snap parliamentary elections anticipated after the referendum on Sunday, October 21. Al... MORE
TURKISH CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM TO GO AHEAD DESPITE CONFUSION
Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board (YSK), yesterday (October 17) voted to go ahead with the planned constitutional referendum on October 21, amid continuing confusion about its legal validity. The constitutional amendments foreseen in the text that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) originally planned to... MORE
PRODI VISITS NAZARBAYEV TO SETTLE DIFFERENCES ON KASHAGAN
On October 8 Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan, to consult with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Masimov in a bid to ease tensions around the Kashagan oilfield. Work at Kashagan was halted over the summer, due to accusations... MORE
CASPIAN SUMMIT BALANCES INTERESTS AND DIFFERENCES
The presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan held a Caspian Summit meeting yesterday (October 16) in Tehran. It was the second summit of this type, the first having been held in Ashgabat in 2002. And it was the first visit by a Kremlin... MORE