Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
BAISALOV FACES PROSECUTION AHEAD OF KYRGYZ ELECTIONS
Two major Kyrgyz opposition parties – Ata Meken and the Social-Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) – have been experiencing extreme pressure from the government ahead of parliamentary elections on December 16. After SDPK member Edil Baisalov’s published a sample ballot on his personal blog on... MORE
ILLEGAL MIGRATION STRAINING TURKEY’S TIES WITH GREECE, EU
The December 10 sinking of an overcrowded boat carrying illegal migrants from Turkey to Greece has highlighted Turkey’s increasing importance as a transit point for illegal migrants seeking to gain entry to the countries of the EU. The issue has begun to strain Turkey’s relations... MORE
MEDVEDEV – A FACELESS FUTURE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT
Russian President Vladimir Putin has finally designated First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as his preferred successor. Almost immediately, Medvedev announced that he will ask Putin to be his prime minister "in the interests of the continuity of Putin's internal and foreign policies" (RIA-Novosti, December... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN NOTES AFGHANISTAN’S EMERGING SECURITY AGENDA
Kazakhstan’s ruling elite has clearly been in a self-congratulatory mood since securing the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010. However, as its foreign policy evolves in the meantime, there is no guarantee that Kazakhstan will emerge as an OSCE-inspired Eurasian bastion of democracy. Regional issues... MORE
BAKU SAYS TIME NEEDED TO DISCUSS NEW MINSK GROUP PROPOSAL
The new proposal from the OSCE’s Minsk group, put forward to the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan at last week’s OSCE summit in Madrid, needs to be studied in more detail by expert groups, according to Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov (ANS TV,... MORE
TURKISH MILITARY ADMITS LOSING PSYCHOLOGICAL WAR, TARGETS KURDISH MPs
General Yasar Buyukanit, the chief of the Turkish General Staff (TGS), yesterday (December 11) admitted that Turkey was losing the psychological war against Kurdish separatism. Buyukanit was speaking at a symposium in Ankara organized by the Strategic Research and Studies Center (SAREM), a think tank... MORE
IS RUSSIA’S “OPERATION SUCCESSOR” FINALLY OVER?
Yesterday’s announcement by United Russia and three other parties that First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will be their candidate in the March 2008 presidential election, followed by President Vladimir Putin’s blessing of Medvedev’s candidacy, appears at first glance to mean that “Operation Successor” has... MORE
GODFATHER OF KAZMUNAYGAZ JOINS TOP ECHELONS OF POWER
On December 6 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed Nurlan Balgimbayev to be his advisor. Shortly before the announcement, a new wave of administrative reforms replaced several regional governors and top government officials, including the ministers of finance and energy and mineral resources. Balgimbayev is one... MORE
U.S. PROPOSAL TOLERATES RUSSIAN MILITARY PRESENCE IN MOLDOVA
According to a new U.S. proposal regarding Moldova, “Russia would resume withdrawal/disposal of munitions when possible.” Pending that, the OSCE would conduct periodic observation visits at the munitions stockpiles. Thus, the document fails to establish a Russian commitment to, or time frame for, the withdrawal... MORE
EDUCATION APPOINTMENT REINFORCES TURKISH SECULARIST FEARS, SIGNALS TENSIONS AHEAD
Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s choice of a conservative as the new head of the Higher Education Council (YOK), which oversees university education in Turkey, has reinforced Turkish secularist fears and raised concerns about the possibility of renewed tensions over the role of Islam in public... MORE