Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
EXPERT REPORT ON MISSILE DROP IN GEORGIA LEAVES UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
On August 12-14 in Georgia, an international group of experts investigated the circumstances of the August 6 Russian air incursion and missile drop on that country. Following the incident, Georgia called for an independent international investigation -- independent meaning that the experts would volunteer their... MORE
MORE PROBLEMS FOR RUSSO-GERMAN GAS PIPELINE PROJECT
Gazprom’s corporate report for the second quarter of 2007, released on August 14, officially puts the cost of building the Russo-German gas pipeline on the Baltic seabed, known as Nord Stream, at €6 billion (Interfax, August 14). This means a 50% increase over the €4... MORE
RIVAL CAMPS POSITION THEMSELVES OVER GUL PRESIDENTIAL BID
The Nationalist Action Party (MHP), with 70 seats in the new Turkish parliament, has indicated that it has no serious objection to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, becoming president (Today’s Zaman, August 2). The party is expected to... MORE
UKRAINE’S 2007 ELECTIONS WILL ALSO DECIDE UKRAINE’S NEXT PRESIDENT
Ukraine’s September 30 parliamentary elections will decide the country’s next government and most likely determine the outcome of the presidential elections two years later. As seasoned Zerkalo nedeli commentator Serhiy Rakhmanin pointed out, the “pre-term parliamentary campaign gives [President Viktor] Yushchenko a great opportunity to... MORE
MOSCOW BLAMES TERRORISTS FOR TRAIN DERAILMENT
On Monday, August 13, a high-speed express passenger train traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg derailed in Novgorod region after a remote-controlled landmine exploded under the tracks. Thirteen train cars were derailed, 60 people were injured, some of them seriously, but there were no fatalities.... MORE
RUSSIAN EXPERTS DIVIDED OVER CLAIMS TO ARCTIC CONTINENTAL SHELF
As Russia staked a high-profile claim to the seabed under the Arctic Ocean, the country’s experts remain divided over the venture’s relevance. The liberal Nezavisimaya gazeta newspaper cited experts as saying that Russia’s polar venture did more harm than good. The expedition actually damaged Russia’s... MORE
ECONOMICS AND SECURITY CLOSELY TIED IN KAZAKHSTAN-JORDAN RELATIONSHIP
On August 9 Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev met Jordan’s King Abdallah II in Astana, confirming his intention to expand ties between the two countries. In addition to Jordan, Kazakhstan is also pursuing closer bilateral relations with Egypt as part of an overture to the Middle... MORE
TURKEY AT THE INTERSECTION OF ISLAM AND KEMALISM
Tuesday’s announcement of the re-nomination of Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul for the post of president of Turkey puts the nation’s fiercely secularist military only one step away from reporting to an Islamist politician. Yet the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) must still see... MORE
BALTIC STATES CLOSE RANKS WITH GEORGIA, JOIN U.S. TO INVESTIGATE MISSILE INCIDENT
The Baltic states spoke out on Georgia from day one of the crisis triggered by the Russian missile drop on that country. On August 7, Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Artis Pabriks “strongly condemned the violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Pabriks assured his... MORE
BELARUS PROPAGATES ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC SUCCESSES
In the aftermath of the latest round of the ongoing gas dispute with Russia, the Belarusian Ministries of Labor and Social Protection and Statistics have provided figures on the economic and demographic situation in the country that shed a favorable light on living standards and... MORE