Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
YUSHCHENKO FACES NATO REFERENDUM PROBLEM
Signatures have been collected in Ukraine in favor of holding a referendum on membership in NATO and the Single Economic Space -- a loose economic union with Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has confirmed that the signatures are valid. Pro-Western President... MORE
RUSSIA-BELARUS STANDOFF MAY BEGIN AFFECTING OIL TRANSIT TO EUROPE
Deliveries of Russian oil via Belarus to points West suffered several brief interruptions during January 5 through 8, causing a slight decrease in the volumes scheduled for delivery to Poland and Germany. The problem has arisen following Minsk’s introduction of a transit charge for Russian... MORE
ARREST OF ARMENIAN “COUP PLOTTERS” RAISES QUESTIONS
Armenian authorities claim to have thwarted a coup d’etat that was allegedly planned by hard-line nationalists opposed to major concessions to Azerbaijan in the conflict over Karabakh. Two prominent veterans of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war were controversially arrested last month and now look set to stand... MORE
AMID MOUNTING CRITICISM IN KAZAKHSTAN, BEIJING AND ASTANA SEAL NEW DEALS
On December 23 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev wrapped up his first three-day visit to Beijing since his reelection in December 2005. The trip, characterized as “a breakthrough” in bilateral relations by the official mouthpiece Kazakhstanskaya pravda, was marked by series of landmark agreements aimed at... MORE
BELARUS TRANSIT TAX RETALIATES TO RUSSIAN CUSTOMS TAX ON OIL EXPORTS
Effective January 1, the Russian government introduced an export duty of $181 per ton of crude oil delivered to Belarus. Those deliveries had been duty-free until now. Signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov on December 8, 2006, the decision places oil deliveries to Belarus under... MORE
MOSCOW INTRODUCES NEW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES FOR OIL DEVELOPMENT IN EASTERN SIBERIA
As Transneft, Russia's crude oil pipeline monopoly, rushes to build the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, Moscow has introduced additional economic incentives for oil companies to boost crude output and develop new deposits in eastern Siberia. Now Russia pumps a mere one million tons of crude... MORE
U.S. SANCTIONS ROSOBORONEKSPORT OVER DEALS WITH IRAN
Russia is still mostly closed for business because of the extended Christmas holidays, but more bad news on its international standing is hardly a welcome gift. On January 6 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lashed out regarding new sanctions imposed by the United States against... MORE
AZERBAIJAN’S PRESIDENT TURNS DOWN GAZPROM’S “BLACKMAIL” PRICE
Azerbaijan has ceased importing gas from Russia as of January 1. Despite the anticipated shortage of gas in the country -- compounded by an unanticipated production delay at the international Shah Deniz gas project -- Azerbaijan has refused to pay $235 per 1,000 cubic meters... MORE
RUSSIA REGRETS SADDAM HUSSEIN’S DEATH
Deposing a dictator, let alone hanging him in public, has never been popular in Russia. Saddam Hussein’s death was no exception. Public commentary in Russia over Saddam’s death by hanging on December 30, 2006, was almost unanimously negative, although the reasons offered by those who... MORE
MOSCOW LAUNCHES MAJOR ANTI-CORRUPTION DRIVE
Moscow is slowly realizing that rampant corruption is sapping the country’s economic vitality and tarnishing its image among potential Western investors. This week United Russia’s Mikhail Grishankov, chair of the Duma’s anti-corruption commission, declared, “We are confident that in 2007 we will continue a full-scale... MORE