Two weeks before Kyrgyzstan’s December 16 parliamentary elections, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev abruptly sacked Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev. Atambayev represents the moderate opposition in the government and his Social-Democratic party has been rapidly gaining ground in the run up to the elections. Atambayev was also... MORE

Turkey’s Supreme Military Council (YAS) meets today (November 29), with the proposed formation of a specialized anti-terrorism force expected to be high on its agenda. YAS traditionally meets twice a year to discuss issues related to personnel, training, and future plans for the armed forces:... MORE

The United States has voiced support for the ambitious idea of building a new nuclear power station in Armenia in place of an aging Soviet-era facility, boosting the chances of its realization in the near future. Moreover, the U.S. government announced last week that it... MORE

Azerbaijan’s decisive role in launching the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (Turkey) railroad project to link Asia and Europe (see EDM, November 27) underscores the country’s surge to regional leadership on energy and transport projects. Barely one year into full-scale operation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Azerbaijan has begun... MORE

As Turkey continues to mull limited air strikes and commando raids against the camps of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, Turkish authorities appear to be stepping up their efforts to weaken the PKK by exacerbating divisions inside the organization. In late October... MORE

At the State Council's November 13 meeting in Krasnoyarsk, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that transportation infrastructure is strategically important for the country's economic growth. He conceded that the bulk of Russia's transportation facilities have become worn-out and obsolete, as most civilian planes, river ships,... MORE

International competition in Turkmenistan’s energy sector is supplying a pretext for Iran to remind Ashgabat of its need to preserve good relations with Tehran. A bilateral meeting held in Ashgabat on November 19, attended by senior foreign ministry officials from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, considered the... MORE

On November 25, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will make public the details of a new Turkish constitution on December 15 (Hurriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Vatan, Radikal, November 26). Erdogan’s statement came on the last day... MORE