Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
MOSCOW QUIETLY RAISES ITS GAME IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Three weeks after the eruption of hostilities in Lebanon, Russia has remained uncharacteristically cautious and reserved. President Vladimir Putin took a very active stance in the debates on the conflict at the July 15-17 G-8 summit in St. Petersburg and claimed credit for “softening” the... MORE
CARACAS GETS RECYCLED RUSSIAN WEAPONS TO REPEL ALLEGED U.S. PLAN TO ATTACK VENEZUELA
Hugo Chavez, the flamboyant leftist president of Venezuela, visited Russia last week as part of a tour of European and Asian countries that included Belarus and Iran. In Minsk and Tehran Chavez joined his hosts in issuing anti-American and anti-Israeli rhetoric. In Russia, Chavez's rhetoric... MORE
RUSSO-CHINESE FORESTRY JOINT VENTURE PLANS SPARK CONCERNS
As Russian and Chinese officials indicated plans to launch a major forestry joint venture in Siberia, environmentalists decried the idea as an ominous sign for Russia’s taiga forests. Russia and China discussed a long-term lease of one million hectares of Siberian forests as "a pilot... MORE
YUSHCHENKO LAYS OUT HIS CONDITIONS FOR ACCEPTING YANUKOVYCH
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, who is reluctant to approve the parliamentary majority’s choice for prime minister -- his 2004 presidential election rival Viktor Yanukovych -- has decided to explain his reluctance to the nation. Yushchenko has made public a set of conditions, making it clear... MORE
RUSSIAN ENERGY MONOPOLIES MARCH TOWARD HYDROCARBONS EMPIRE
The latest moves by Russia’s major state-controlled energy companies have clearly demonstrated that “expansion” and “control” are still the words that best describe the Kremlin’s preferred “mode of operation.” On the Western front Gazprom, Russia’s natural energy behemoth, appears ready to strike a deal with... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN EYES LATVIA AS GATEWAY TO EUROPEAN OIL MARKETS
When Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Riga on July 18, the overriding topic of discussion was how best to send Kazakh oil to energy-hungry markets in Europe and Scandinavian via Latvia. Nazarbayev did his best to give the impression of a pragmatic leader unburdened by... MORE
GEORGIA REGAINS CONTROL OVER BATTLE IN KODORI
Following President Mikheil Saakashvili July 24 call “to give Georgia’s enemies their gruel,” Georgian troops launched a special operation in Kodori Gorge to neutralize the local chieftain, Emzar Kvitsiani, and his officially disbanded “Monadire” (Hunter) militia, after he defied the central authorities in Tbilisi on... MORE
RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES DOUBT REBELS WILL ACCEPT AMNESTY OFFER
Russian authorities are continuing their attempts to get maximum benefit from the July 10 death of Shamil Basaev, military commander of North Caucasian rebels. On July 15 Federal Security Service Director Nikolai Patrushev put forward an offer of amnesty to Chechnya’s separatist rebels (see Chechnya... MORE
UNCERTAINTY ON EVE OF NATO HANDOVER IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN
This week coalition forces in Afghanistan announced the end of the 45-day “Operation Mountain Thrust,” which killed more than 600 Taliban fighters. The operation took place in the volatile region of southern Afghanistan and included more than 10,000 U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces (VOA, July... MORE
UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT, CABINET IN LIMBO
No cabinet is emerging in Ukraine to replace the outgoing one of Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov. Meanwhile, President Viktor Yushchenko may disband parliament at any time and call new elections. This uncertainty is apparently Yushchenko’s conscious choice, as he delays the appointment of a new... MORE