Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
KYRGYZ DEPUTY SPEAKER BLASTS INEXPERIENCED DIPLOMATIC CORPS
On July 9 the Shanghai Cooperation Organization council of foreign ministers met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to finalize the agenda for the forthcoming SCO summit in August. Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev commented afterward that the summit will focus on developing the work of the SCO-Afghanistan... MORE
KREMLIN BRINGS FRENCH TOTAL ON BOARD GAZPROM’S SHTOKMAN PROJECT
Russian energy giant Gazprom created a double business sensation last Friday by signing an agreement with French oil “champion” Total on developing the Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea. Part of that surprise was the reversal of the wholly unexpected October 2006 decision to... MORE
INTELLIGENTSIA EXCHANGE SPARKS DEBATE, RAISES HOPES IN AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA
The surprise and controversial exchange of intelligentsia delegations between Azerbaijan and Armenia on June 28 generated heated debates in both societies. The move, the first of its kind in the past decade, raised more questions than answers. Each delegation was comprised of five or six... MORE
PRO-PRESIDENTIAL PARTY DOMINATES ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN KAZAKHSTAN
The party-list segment of Kazakhstan’s parliamentary elections, set for August 18, will be an uphill battle for opposition political forces in Kazakhstan. For all their irreconcilable differences and divergent policies, the assorted opposition contenders all must face the formidable, pro-presidential Nur Otan People’s Democratic Party.... MORE
AS UKRAINE LOOKS TOWARD NATO, MOSCOW’S MARITIME INTERESTS SHIFT EASTWARD
Legendary Russian General Alexander Suvorov founded Russia’s Black Sea naval base at Sevastopol in 1783. Since the collapse of communism in 1991, Russia’s presence in the Crimean peninsula has increasingly been a bone of contention between Moscow and Kyiv, and Russia is slowly moving to... MORE
RUSSIA LAUNCHES MASSIVE PROGRAM TO DEVELOP BLACK SEA PORTS
On July 11 Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov and Transport Minister Igor Levitin unveiled a comprehensive modernization program for Russian Black Sea ports during an inspection visit there. The program is ambitious in both scale and pace, with most of its goals scheduled... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S MULTI-VECTOR ELECTION STRATEGY
On July 4 Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko called a high-level meeting of oligarchs, the third such gathering in his presidency. The first took place in October 2005 after Yuriy Yekhanurov replaced Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister (see EDM, October 28, 2005). Yushchenko has always maintained... MORE
CHUBAIS’ ”ADVISER“ RELEASED FROM MOLDOVAN DETENTION
On July 9, the Chisinau Court of Appeals released Valeriu Pasat from jail, after serving two and a half years out of a 10-year sentence. Pasat has been an adviser to Russian Unified Energy Systems (UES) chief Anatoly Chubais. Moldovan authorities are keeping the case... MORE
RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE ATTACK IN NORTH OSSETIA
On the night of July 6, Caucasian rebels carried out a hit-and-run raid on the Russian military garrison in Ingushetia. First reports of the incident came from the Ingushetiya.ru website. The website reported that starting at 12:45 am, sounds of shooting and explosions could be... MORE
KAZAKH-KYRGYZ ECONOMIC RELATIONS RECEIVE NEW BOOST
On July 11 Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov and Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev signed an agreement to establish a common investment fund that should increase economic assistance to Kyrgyzstan and boost relations between both countries. According to the agreement, Kazakhstan will invest $100 million,... MORE