Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
CHINA ASSERTS COUNTER TERRORIST CREDENTIALS IN CENTRAL ASIA
Diplomatic contacts between Bishkek and Beijing are intensifying ahead of the August summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek. Last week SCO defense minister conferred in Bishkek. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan on July 7-8, meeting... MORE
GEORGIAN FLAG RAISED OVER AKHALKALAKI
The flag of Georgia has been flying over the Akhalkalaki military base since June 27, with Georgian troops moving onto the base to replace the last Russian troops. The commander of the Group of Russian Forces in the Transcaucasus (GRVZ), Maj.-General Andrei Popov, and Georgia’s... MORE
MOSCOW SEEKS TO RAISE GRAIN EXPORTS AND REDUCE EU AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES
Russia has proposed launching a dialogue with major grain producers and exporters about creating an organization to coordinate global grain production and trade, a sort of "grain OPEC." The international response has been mixed. "Ukraine supported us, and we will hold similar talks with Kazakhstan,"... MORE
NAZARBAYEV DISSOLVES MAJILIS, CALLS SNAP ELECTION
On June 20, speaking to parliamentary faction of his Nur Otan party, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he had decided to dissolve the lower chamber of parliament, the Majilis. In an unprecedented move, one day before that decision, 61 members of the Majilis had petitioned... MORE
IS MOLDOVA’S PRESIDENT DROPPING THE EUROPEAN BANNER?
President Vladimir Voronin gathered the chiefs of diplomatic missions accredited in Moldova on June 28 for a briefing on his recent and upcoming negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Moldpres, June 28). Stung by criticism of his non-transparent meetings with Putin and back-channel negotiations with... MORE
FOR SERBS IN KOSOVO, NATO GOES FROM VILLAIN TO PROTECTOR
In one of history’s more recent ironies, during a June 27 meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic asked NATO to protect minority Serbs in Serbia’s increasingly autonomous Kosovo province. Jeremic said, “Regardless of political and diplomatic developments, maintaining... MORE
SCO’S INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE SURGES AS IRAN, TURKMENISTAN WISH TO JOIN
On Monday, June 25 Iran, Mongolia, and Turkmenistan confirmed their participation at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit scheduled for August 16 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The presidents of all three countries – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nambaryn Enkhbayar, and Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov – will attend as distinguished... MORE
ESTONIAN PRESIDENT’S U.S. VISIT REFLECTS A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
U.S. President George W. Bush received Estonian President Toomas Ilves for a two-hour meeting at the White House on June 25, a high point of Ilves’ June 24-27 visit to the United States. Bush had paid a visit to Estonia as recently as November 2006,... MORE
YUSHCHENKO STARTS ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOR HIS PARTY
There is no unity among the supporters of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, with just three months to go before early parliamentary elections, scheduled for September 30. His strongest ally, Yulia Tymoshenko, will contest the election separately. The talks between his own party Our Ukraine (NU)... MORE
SECURITY OFFICIALS KIDNAP ALLEGED “WAHHABIS” IN DAGESTAN
Two recent conferences provide markedly different views on the situation in Dagestan. While the local government blames Islamic fundamentalism, human rights activists decry human rights violations. While Makhachkala’s leaders preach religious tolerance, law-enforcement officials carry out kidnappings, torture, and executions. On June 6 the government... MORE