Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
GEORGIAN POLICE CLAIM TO SOLVE HIGH-PROFILE MURDER
The Georgian Interior Ministry has announced that it has solved the killing of Sandro Girgvliani, the 28-year-old chief of the international relations division at the United Georgian Bank. On March 6, Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili told a news conference that four officers from the Interior... MORE
UKRAINE STEPS IN TO CLOSE EUROPE’S BIGGEST BLACK HOLE
Ukraine has finally begun cooperating with Moldova and the European Union against rampant unlawful trade across the Transnistria sector of the Ukraine-Moldova border. That 450-kilometer sector, Europe's largest "black hole," forms a major source of the secessionist authorities' income and power as well as a... MORE
THREE PARTIES TO CONTEST UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
The March 26 parliamentary election in Ukraine will be contested by an unprecedented 45 parties and blocs, but this impressive number is misleading. Opinion polls show that over 30 of them have nothing to hope for, while four to six parties will be struggling to... MORE
BELARUS ELECTION CAMPAIGN TURNS VIOLENT
Belarusian authorities have made some concessions to the opposition during the presidential election campaign, but they have also used violence and provocations to ensure that there are no surprises on March 19. The violence began on February 17, registration day for presidential candidates. A scuffle... MORE
ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT REAFFIRMS PLANS TO BUILD NEW NUCLEAR PLANT
The Armenian government has pledged to press ahead with the realization of its extremely ambitious plans to build a new nuclear power station in place of the aging Metsamor plant, which is due to be shut down by 2016. Underlining the seriousness of its intentions,... MORE
RUSSIA CHINA PLEDGE TO BOOST SECURITY TIES
Top Russian and Chinese security officials have reiterated earlier pledges to develop bilateral cooperation. They also agreed to hold an unprecedented security drill in Southern Russia, the region that includes Chechnya and other volatile North Caucasus republics. "We have made plans to conduct exercises in... MORE
RULING PARTY CONTINUES TO LOSE GROUND IN AZERBAIJAN
Recent sweeping changes in the ministerial positions in Azerbaijan's government have brought a new dynamic to the country's internal political developments. Whereas these developments highlighted the growing and consolidating position of President Ilham Aliyev, they also revealed the fading role of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan... MORE
KOCHARIAN’S WARNING TO RECOGNIZE KARABAKH IS UNCONVINCING
Armenian President Robert Kocharian's warning that Yerevan might officially recognize Karabakh as a state and sign a military alliance with it is being treated by Azerbaijan with composure. Despite that warning, Baku's priority is to maintain an atmosphere conducive to the resumption of negotiations, following... MORE
SELLING “ENERGY SECURITY” IN BUDAPEST AND PRAGUE
For many years Russia's European policy neglected the group of states from Slovenia to Poland that are now new EU members. These former "satellites" were perceived as intrinsically "Russia-phobic." Russian President Vladimir Putin's visits to Hungary and the Czech Republic last week were intended to... MORE
SOLANA GAFFE OVERSHADOWS FAILURE OF 5+2 NEGOTIATIONS
The European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, has unexpectedly redefined the nature of the conflict in Transnistria with a single phrase. Interviewed in the Chisinau daily Moldova Suverana, on the eve of a scheduled visit to Moldova, Solana opines:... MORE