Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
IN PUTIN WE TRUST: MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT GOES FOR BROKE IN DEAL WITH RUSSIA
In a marathon-length televised interview on July 20, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin admitted to negotiating a “plan” for conflict-settlement in Transnistria with the Kremlin. Broadcast live in Russian on the presidentially controlled private channel NIT, Voronin’s emotional interview was kept out of the official Moldovan... MORE
VORONIN NEGOTIATES WITH THE KREMLIN ON TRANSNISTRIA
In his July 20 interview and July 25 press conference, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin revealed some elements of his plan with the Kremlin on Transnistria: 1. RussianTroops “When the country is reintegrated, no foreign soldier must remain, no military structure of any state,” Voronin said.... MORE
SCO TO HOST “PEACE MISSION 2007” ANTI-TERRORIST DRILL IN AUGUST
Military analysts will be closely watching next month’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization anti-terrorist exercise, "Peace Mission 2007.” The drill will be the SCO’s largest joint exercise in its six-year history. Contingents from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will take part, along with their country’s... MORE
TURKISH CHIEF OF STAFF FACING DILEMMA OVER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
On July 26 the Turkish press quoted Devlet Bahceli, leader of the ultranationalist National Action Party (MHP), as stating that the party would not boycott the parliamentary vote to elect the country’s next president, thus effectively opening the way for the AKP to appoint any... MORE
TURKEY’S CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC PRESENCE GROWS IN KYRGYZSTAN
Like other Central Asian states, Kyrgyzstan’s relations with Turkey have considerably strengthened since the collapse of the Soviet Union. A July 23 conference held in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, on the role of political actors in state-building in Turkic countries in the 20th century showed... MORE
FOREIGN TV CHANNELS CLOSED IN AZERBAIJAN: POLITICS, ECONOMICS, OR SOMETHING ELSE?
Russia’s ORT television, the successor to the first TV station in the Soviet Union, was officially closed in Azerbaijan as of July 11. The decision came as a result of failed negotiations between the governments of Russia and Azerbaijan to continue broadcasting the channel in... MORE
RUSSIA PLANS TO DEPLOY COMBAT AIRCRAFT IN TAJIKISTAN
On July 17 Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defense announced plans to allow Russian combat aircraft to be deployed in Dushanbe. The agreement involves the aviation support component of the Russian 201st Motor Rifle Division based in Tajikistan and will result in Russian combat aircraft being quartered... MORE
AKP SENDS MIXED SIGNALS OVER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Today, July 25, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul today refused to confirm that he would withdraw as a candidate for the country’s presidency when parliament meets in early August 2007 to elect a successor to the incumbent, Ahmet Necdet Sezer. “I cannot ignore the will... MORE
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