Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
UZBEKISTAN CONSIDERS RAPPROCHEMENT WITH THE WEST
Recent events in Uzbekistan seem to point to warming relations with the West and a possible re-adjustment of its relations with Russia. EU sanctions on Uzbekistan will remain in place for another year, despite Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Norov’s recent trip to Brussels. Nevertheless,... MORE
MOSCOW SELF-DISQUALIFYING AS PEACEKEEPER AND MEDIATOR IN ABKHAZ, SOUTH OSSETIAN CONFLICTS
The Russian Duma’s December 6 resolutions, calling for recognition of Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s secession from Georgia and their potential incorporation into Russia, are primarily geared to short-term tactical goals of Russian policy. These goals include: a) provoking Georgia into another spiral of bilateral confrontation... MORE
BISHKEK’S MANAS BASE IN CRISIS
On December 6 a Kyrgyz citizen was shot at the U.S.-led international anti-terrorism coalition’s Ganci airbase at Manas. Alexander Ivanov, a 43-year-old truck driver, appeared to be on a routine mission at Ganci when he was killed. He was allegedly shot on one of the... MORE
MONGOL PRESIDENT PAYS UNEVENTFUL VISIT TO MOSCOW
While visiting Russia from December 4 to December 10, Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar reiterated pledges to strengthen economic ties with Moscow. However, similar official pronouncements in the past have so far failed to generate any breakthrough in bilateral relations. At a meeting in the Kremlin... MORE
WILL ECONOMIC SANCTIONS BECOME A LEGITIMATE TOOL OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY?
Russian lawmakers appear to have confirmed the Kremlin’s move to legitimize economic sanctions as an established instrument of the country’s increasingly muscular foreign policy. The jury is still out, however, as to whether this tool will be effective. On December 6 Russia’s State Duma voted... MORE
AZERBAIJAN KEEPS SOLIDARITY WITH GEORGIA DESPITE RUSSIAN ENERGY SUPPLY CUTS
On Wednesday, December 6, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupryanov confirmed recent press reports that Gazprom will abruptly slash gas supplies to Azerbaijan to 1.5 billion cubic meters in 2007, down from 4.5 billion cubic meters in 2006, and that it would raise the price as of... MORE
OSCE’S YEAR-END CONFERENCE: A FAILURE THAT HELPS CLARITY
Even in its failure, the OSCE year-end conference on December 4-5 in Brussels managed to highlight the fact that Russia’s conflict undertakings in Georgia and Moldova constitute the main problem of European security at present. This fact had been implicitly understood for some time, but... MORE
TRANS-BLACK SEA PIPELINE CAN BRING CASPIAN GAS TO EUROPE
A New York-based consortium of several independent parties is completing the pre-feasibility study for a Georgia-Ukraine-European Union (GUEU) gas pipeline project. Led by the London-based Pipeline Systems Engineering (PSE) and the New-York-based Radon-Ishizumi consulting and engineering firms, the project envisages bringing Caspian gas to EU... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN AND TURKEY SPEARHEAD INTEGRATION OF TURKIC NATIONS
At least three people died and dozens of Turkish and Kazakh workers were badly injured when a fight erupted at a construction firm in Atyrau (West Kazakhstan) on October 20. The firm holds a contract with Chevron, and the incident has re-ignited public anger against... MORE
RUSSIAN MASS MEDIA SHAPE PUBLIC OPINION IN KYRGYZSTAN
Last week Murat Zhurayev, a Kyrgyz parliamentarian from Batken, supported the idea of Kyrgyzstan entering the ruble zone. He thus joined the ranks of Kyrgyz politicians who advocate moving deeper into Russia’s orbit (24.kg, December 2). Given the ongoing economic crisis and political instability in... MORE