Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
TURKISH POLICE NO NEARER TO SOLVING ATTEMPTED ANKARA BOMBING
One week after foiling a massive bomb attack in the center of Ankara, the Turkish police appear no closer to identifying either the perpetrators or the bomb’s intended target. On September 11, police sniffer dogs found a 580 kilogram improvised explosive device (IED) in a... MORE
FRIENDS OF GEORGIA HOLD STRATEGY SESSION IN LITHUANIA
The New Friends of Georgia group of countries conferred in an enlarged and upgraded format on September 13-14 in Vilnius. This meeting shows that a strong nucleus of eight countries has developed within the European Union and NATO (alongside the United States in the latter... MORE
RUSSIA’S FAR EASTERN REGIONAL LEADERS HAIL ASIA-PACIFIC INTEGRATION
Regional leaders in the Russian Far East want to speed development of the country’s remotest regions in a bid to strengthen the Asia-Pacific dimension of Russia’s external economic ties. Notably, the Far Eastern Primor Region, bordering China and the Pacific, is supposed to become a... MORE
TRENDS AND OPINION POLLS REVEAL SHIFTING VOTER PREFERENCES IN UKRAINE
Ukraine’s parliamentary elections on September 30 are unlikely to bring overwhelming victories for either the “orange” camp of Our Ukraine-Self Defense and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc or the “blue” camp of the Party of Regions. Ukraine’s regional and linguistic divide makes such a landslide unlikely;... MORE
ERDOGAN TO RULE ON FINAL DRAFT OF TURKEY’S NEW CONSTITUTION
Members of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have completed a three-day retreat to discuss a draft of the country’s new constitution, but they have left the decision on the final text to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On September 12, AKP Deputy Chairman... MORE
BULGARIA SEDUCED BY SOUTH STREAM GAS PROJECT?
Bulgarian authorities seem to regard Russia’s South Stream project for gas transport to Europe as a great opportunity for the designated transit country, Bulgaria. The South Stream pipeline would run from Russia’s Black Sea coast on the seabed to Bulgaria and from there to Italy.... MORE
POSSIBLE FOOD UNREST IN CENTRAL ASIA
Harvest yields below projected levels combined with rising prices have analysts watching events in Central Asia, wondering if increased food prices might trigger civic protests. Poor weather has combined with the U.S. demand for ethanol bio-fuel to affect global grain prices. Because the United States... MORE
POLITICAL CRISIS LOOMS AS INFLATION GROWS IN KYRGYZSTAN
As food prices continue to rise in Kyrgyzstan, the potential for another political crisis is rising. Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev recently threatened to sack ministers who failed to foresee and prevent the 30% inflation rate for wheat prices in the past three months. If... MORE
POLITICAL TENSIONS HIT TURKISH ECONOMIC TIES WITH NORTHERN IRAQ
Turkish companies active in northern Iraq say that political tensions between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish authorities have severely damaged their ability to do business in the region. Many are now preparing to wind up their operations in northern Iraq and return to Turkey (Milliyet,... MORE
PUTIN APPOINTS NEW PRIME MINISTER: HAS SUCCESSION RACE BEGUN?
Yesterday, September 12, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov resigned. His departure was hardly a surprise. Rumors of his impending resignation had been circulating all summer. However, most observers had anticipated that First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov -- an old friend of President Vladimir Putin... MORE