Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
HEAD OF GEORGIA’S NATIONAL GUARD RESIGNS AFTER 10 DAYS
The Georgian armed forces anticipate two major challenges in 2006. First, Russian peacekeeping troops are expected to withdraw from the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Second, Georgia must redesign its defense system according to NATO standards if it hopes to join that organization.... MORE
IRAN, TAJIKISTAN STRENGTHEN COOPERATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR
Amid rivalries over energy supplies between a number of post-Soviet states, international media outlets have largely ignored Tajikistan's initiatives with Iran for hydroelectricity. Tajikistan is an important part of the Central Asian power system, which has a high potential for producing hydroelectricity, but it has... MORE
IRAN AND CHINA SIGN AGREEMENT TO EXPLORE OIL IN THE CASPIAN SEA
On January 18, Iran's North Drilling Company (NDC) and the Hong Kong-registered China Oilfield Services Ltd. signed an oil-exploration agreement for management, repair, and maintenance of the Alborz semi-floating platform, currently being constructed by the Iranian Offshore Industries Company. A three-year contract with an estimated... MORE
CRISIS OF UKRAINE’S STATE INSTITUTIONS
The Kremlin's "gas attack" on Ukraine exploited an ongoing crisis of state institutions in that country and exacerbated the crisis almost to the point of meltdown. This situation undermines the country's and its president's capacity to resist Moscow's emerging strategy to recapture key economic and... MORE
SPECULATION CONTINUES OVER APPOINTMENT OF NEW UZBEK MVD CHIEF, RESIGNATION OF SNB CHAIR SEEMS INEVITABLE
The recent turnover at the top of the Uzbek Ministry of Internal Affairs is still generating talk inside Uzbekistan. On January 5, the National Information Agency of Uzbekistan (UzA) announced a presidential decree naming Bahodyr Matlyubov as the new Minister of Internal Affairs, replacing the... MORE
CALLS GROW FOR RESIGNATION OF KYRGYZ SECURITY CHIEF
Members of the Kyrgyz parliament are calling for the resignation of Tashtemir Aytbayev, chairman of the National Security Service. A resolution, adopted on January 26, aims at tackling the unsatisfactory nature of the National Security Service in its efforts to combat organized crime. MPs also... MORE
MOSCOW TO INCREASE NUCLEAR TIES WITH UZBEKISTAN
The five members of the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC) formally admitted Uzbekistan to the organization during its January 25 summit meeting in St. Petersburg. The EEC member states -- Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan -- agreed to allow Uzbekistan to join the organization for... MORE
RUSSIAN ECONOMIC BOOM GOES UNNOTICED IN DAVOS
This year's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, featured many themes that could have benefited from a Russian perspective. From the "New Mindset for the UN" to "Europe's Identity Crisis" and "A Take on Tehran" to "The Need for Effective Leadership in Addressing Global Risks,"... MORE
MOSCOW, KYIV DISRUPTING NEGOTIATIONS ON TRANSNISTRIA
On January 26-27, negotiations on the Transnistria conflict in the enlarged format of 5+2 (Russia, Ukraine, OSCE, Moldova, and the Tiraspol authorities as full participants, plus the United States and European Union as observers) concluded the third failed round of talks in the three months... MORE
RUSSIA WELCOMES UZBEKISTAN INTO ITS EURASIAN ENERGY EMPIRE
On January 25, at the St. Petersburg summit of the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC), Uzbekistan officially joined this Russia-led integration organization. This decision marked yet another stage in Uzbekistan's geopolitical drift into Russia's fold. But it also underscores the joint interest of Moscow and Tashkent... MORE