Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
MOSCOW “LIFTS” THE ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON ABKHAZIA
On March 6 Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a unilateral decision by Russia to lift the economic sanctions against Abkhazia. The Ministry also requested the Commonwealth of Independent States Executive Committee to ask CIS member countries to lift those sanctions as well. At the... MORE
YUSHCHENKO LOOKS TO GRAND COALITION TO REPLACE TYMOSHENKO
On March 15 the government of Yulia Tymoshenko will mark its first 100 days in office, a period that has been a baptism by fire. Not only has the government faced relentless attacks from the opposition Party of Regions (PRU), it has also faced a... MORE
U.S. MILITARY STATEMENTS REVIVE TURKISH SUSPICIONS ABOUT WASHINGTON’S TRUE INTENTIONS TOWARD THE PKK
Recent statements by U.S. military officials have revived Turkish suspicions about Washington’s true intentions toward the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a nearly 24 year-old insurgency for greater rights for Turkey’s Kurdish minority. Although the PKK is included on both the State... MORE
GAZPROM’S SOUTH STREAM PROJECT CAN BE HALTED IN THE BLACK SEA
Gazprom and the Kremlin have lined up Central Asian gas commitments upstream and European Union markets downstream for the South Stream pipeline project. Russia’s project seems to enjoy an unstoppable momentum against its rival Nabucco and other Western-backed projects for Caspian gas to Europe. Nevertheless,... MORE
RUSSIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OFFER THE WEST CHANCE TO GET BACK TO BUSINESS
The March 2 election of Dmitry Medvedev to replace Russian President Vladimir Putin was as crooked as any election in Soviet times. The dull campaign and the inevitable result generated mass annoyance in the Russian public. This in turn led to an extremely low actual... MORE
TURKMEN LEADER PLANS TO ADOPT NEW MILITARY DOCTRINE
On March 3 Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov announced his decision to endorse the country’s second military doctrine. The revised doctrine will take into account Turkmenistan’s declared neutrality in order to enhance the country’s ability to resist potential threats to its domestic stability. The Turkmen president... MORE
TURKEY PREPARES TO WELCOME TALABANI FOR “WORKING VISIT”
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is due to arrive in Ankara tomorrow (March 7) for a three-day visit, with energy cooperation and the presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq expected to top the agenda. However, Turkey has refused to classify the trip... MORE
SOUTH STREAM GAS PROJECT DEFEATING NABUCCO BY DEFAULT
Gazprom’s blitzkrieg capture of five European Union member countries for its South Stream project, preempting the EU- and U.S.-backed Nabucco project, has shattered the credibility of Brussels’ and Washington’s energy security agendas. Country after country (excepting the lone holdout, Romania) have succumbed to the Kremlin-backed... MORE
TOP YELTSIN-ERA FIGURE REPORTEDLY ON MEDVEDEV’S LIST OF POTENTIAL APPOINTEES
Vedomosti reported on March 4 that Russia’s president-elect, Dmitry Medvedev, held a victory gathering at his campaign headquarters on the evening of March 2 to which both journalists and “associates who helped him win” were invited. According to the newspaper, the latter group consisted of... MORE
PARTY OF REGIONS DISCUSSES LANGUAGE, NATO AT FORUM
Ukraine’s main opposition force, the Party of Regions (PRU), organized what it called a “congress of people’s deputies of all levels” in the eastern town of Severodonetsk on Saturday, March 1. It discussed topics such as official languages and NATO membership. Almost 3,700 representatives of... MORE