Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
SOVIET-STYLE VEIL OF SECRECY HIDES RUSSIAN MISSILE FAILURES
Last month the Russian Navy announced a successful launch of the new Bulava (SS-NX-30) sea-based intercontinental ballistic missile. Igor Digalo, chief of the navy press service, declared, “The test was successful, the missile performed according to plan on all stages of flight, the warheads hit... MORE
GAZPROM TAKEOVER IN HUNGARY LOOMS BEHIND POSSIBLE OMV TAKEOVER
Apart from the oil business (see EDM, July 24), Hungary’s gas transmission network is also at stake in the attempted takeover of the national energy company MOL by the Austrian counterpart OMV. And, as with the oil business, the gas transmission network may end up... MORE
ARMENIA DEEPENS ECONOMIC TIES WITH IRAN
Armenia and Iran have agreed to give new impetus to their bilateral relations and press ahead with the implementation of more multimillion-dollar energy projects. The agreements were announced in Yerevan after the July 20 meeting of their intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, co-chaired by Iranian... MORE
DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS EXPECTED IN NEW TURKISH PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES
For the first time in ten years, pro-Kurdish candidates have won seats in the Turkish parliament. Twenty-four independent candidates affiliated with the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) were elected on Sunday, July 22. An additional four non-affiliated independents also won seats. These new lawmakers will... MORE
MOSCOW ESCALATES DIPLOMATIC ROW WITH LONDON
Russian President Vladimir Putin has characterized the current deterioration of Russian-U.K. relations as a “mini-crisis” that would be overcome in the “interests of common sense.” In fact, however, this diplomatic row is shaping up like no other, and Putin’s definition of “common sense” might prove... MORE
AN AUSTRIAN BACK DOOR FOR RUSSIAN TAKEOVER OF HUNGARY’S ENERGY SECTOR? (Part One)
Austria’s OMV, the national energy champion, has blindsided its Hungarian counterpart, MOL, with a merger attempt that looks like a hostile takeover. MOL had to learn from the mass media in late June that OMV had suddenly increased its stake in MOL from 10% to... MORE
AZERBAIJAN STATE OIL COMPANY TO BUILD REFINERIES ABROAD
On July 13 the Turkish Energy Markets Regulatory Authority (EMRA) approved a joint proposal by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Turkey’s Turcas Petrol to build a refinery near the Turkish port of Ceyhan. This was the second large-scale, successful initiative by SOCAR... MORE
PROSPECTS OF IMMINENT CIVIL-MILITARY CONFRONTATION RECEDE IN WAKE OF TURKISH ELECTIONS
Fears of another confrontation between the ruling AK Party and Turkey’s powerful military over the appointment of the country’s next president have receded in the wake of yesterday’s general election. The July 22 polls resulted in an increase in the AK Party’s vote but a... MORE
TOXIC SPILL IN UKRAINE A TEST FOR GOVERNMENT MATURITY
Almost 200 people have been hospitalized following a poisonous chemical spill in Western Ukraine. A cargo train en route from Kazakhstan to Poland derailed in Lviv Region late last Monday, July 16, and six tanker cars loaded with toxic yellow phosphorus cracked, generating a fierce... MORE
TRANSNEFT SQUEEZING OIL MAJORS IN THE CASPIAN PIPELINE CONSORTIUM
On July 19 Transneft president Semyon Vainshtok told the press that Russian demands “are becoming more severe” toward Western companies in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). The added severity includes a concoction of tax claims retroactively. The U.S. companies Chevron and ExxonMobil are among the... MORE