Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

NIYAZOV’S SECURITY CHIEF ARRESTED, HUNT BEGINS FOR STOLEN FUNDS

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The December 21, 2006, death of Turkmenistan’s self proclaimed president-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov set off an intense round of speculation about both the succession process and who might gain access to the world’s fifth-largest energy reserves, responsible for more than $2 billion annually in export revenues.... MORE

PACE CHAIRMAN BENDING TO THE KREMLIN WIND AGAINST ESTONIA

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The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) Chairman, Rene van der Linden, fell into line with Moscow’s anti-Estonia propaganda during his just-completed visit to Russia. He was accompanied by Konstantin Kosachev, head of Russia’s delegation to PACE, during this trip, which included a visit to... MORE

GAZPROM’S CHALLENGE TO BELARUS: INTERNAL REACTIONS

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On August 2, Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka declared that his country would dip into its reserves to pay its existing debt to Gazprom of $456 million (Itar-Tass, August 2). His decision brought a temporary halt to the current crisis raised by Belarus's failure to meet... MORE

NEW GAS PIPELINE TO LINK AZERBAIJAN AND ITALY, VIA TURKEY

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Since the 1991 collapse of the USSR, resource-poor but strategically vital Turkey has sought to position itself as a major transit hub for burgeoning Caspian energy exports. For 15 years Ankara looked on helplessly as Russia, invoking its rights under the 1936 Montreaux Convention, turned... MORE

KREMLIN SABER RATTLING INCREASES AHEAD OF SCO SUMMIT

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Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin, while meeting activists and leaders of pro-Kremlin youth movements, used rather bizarre language to describe Russia's standoff with Great Britain over the murder of former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London last November. According to the official Kremlin website, Putin... MORE

RUSSIA’S GAS PIPELINE NETWORK FACES REALITY CHECK

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In recent weeks Russia has announced a number of high-profile export-oriented gas pipeline projects, notably the Europe-bound Nord Stream and South Stream, the China-bound Altai route, and the Caspian pipeline in Central Asia. However, all these pipelines will be connected with the existing Gazprom pipeline... MORE

TOKYO INVESTS IN STRONG TIES WITH BISHKEK

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Japan was the first Asian country to get actively involved in the Central Asian region following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Besides opening embassies in all of the Central Asian states, Japan has also sought to establish economic ties and implement cultural and educational... MORE

REELECTED TURKISH PM SEEKS NEW, “EUROPEAN STYLE” CONSTITUTION

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Fresh from his July 22 electoral victory, returning Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to draw up a new, “more democratic and civilian constitution” (Today’s Zaman, August 1). The planned changes for the new constitution include more limited presidential powers, judicial review... MORE