Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
TURKEY SIDES WITH MOSCOW AGAINST WASHINGTON ON BLACK SEA FORCE
Ankara and Moscow joined forces to reject the U.S. administration's proposal to expand a NATO-led Mediterranean counterterrorism effort into the Black Sea. Turkey and Russia's joint opposition to the U.S. request underscores the two countries' growing wariness of U.S. strategic designs in the wider Black... MORE
WHAT ROLE FOR THE BLACK SEA REGION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION’S ENERGY STRATEGY? (Part 1)
The European Union is urgently drafting for release within the month a Green Paper on Energy, which may be the first in a series of Energy Papers from Brussels. The move responds to the twin problems that suddenly alarmed the EU and the United States... MORE
WHAT ROLE FOR THE BLACK SEA REGION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION’S ENERGY STRATEGY? (Part 2)
A Black Sea-Caspian focus would highlight the opportunities for common EU-U.S. policies on energy security. The timing seems ideal for the forthcoming EU Green Paper on Energy to recommend joining forces with the United States to reactivate the major projects drafted in the 1990s for... MORE
LOCALS BELIEVE RUSSIAN MILITARY IS POISONING CHECHEN CHILDREN
Last December 7, Taisa Minkailova, a 13-year-old Chechen girl from the village of Starogladkovskaya in the Shelkovskoy District of Northern Chechnya, complained of health problems. She was gasping for air, experiencing convulsions and headaches, and her limbs became numb. Her parents brought her to a... MORE
MONEY CAN’T ENTICE BIN LADEN ALLIES TO REVEAL HIS WHEREABOUTS
Yesterday, March 1, U.S. President George W. Bush visited Afghanistan amid increasing uncertainty about the future of U.S. involvement in the region. This was the first time in more than 50 years that a U.S. president has visited Afghanistan. Although kept secret due to security... MORE
RUSSIAN RAILWAYS FEARS LOOSING OIL SHIPMENTS TO CHINA
Russian Railways (RZD), a state-owned monopoly, has been eyeing crude oil shipments to China as a key element of its Far Eastern development. But now RZD is concerned over prospects of loosing lucrative oil freight business to the planned Pacific oil pipeline. RZD's strategic priority... MORE
MOLDOVAN EX-DEFENSE MINISTER’S TRIAL BOOMERANGS
It was about Napoleon's execution of the Duke d'Enghien, a leader in foreign-supported conspiracies in France, that Talleyrand delivered the comment: "It is worse than a crime, it is a mistake." Moldova's recent sentencing of former defense minister Valeriu Pasat, a leading figure in Russian-supported... MORE
MULTIPLE ISSUES MAKE OPPOSITION SEEM ATTRACTIVE TO GEORGIAN VOTERS
In recent weeks Georgia's ruling National Movement party has repelled attacks from opposition groups criticizing the government's policies in various fields. The opposition charges that Georgia under President Mikheil Saakashvili is teetering between illiberal democracy and liberal autocracy. Saakashvili's government is facing criticism over a... MORE
TEHRAN ANNOUNCES NEW NUCLEAR DEAL WITH MOSCOW, BUT CONTENT IS RERUN OF OLD ARGUMENTS
On Sunday, February 26, Tehran announced an agreement about creating an Iranian-Russian joint venture to enrich uranium. Despite the fanfare, the deal does not represent a genuine agreement that overcomes the crisis generated by Iran's violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In fact, both sides concede... MORE
TRAGEDY AT MOSCOW MARKET REVEALS XENOPHOBIA AMONG RUSSIAN PUBLIC
On February 23 the roof over Moscow's Basmanny market collapsed from a combination of snow buildup and questionable construction. Two years ago a similar accident took place at the Transvaal water park in Moscow, taking the lives of 28 people. Both projects had the same... MORE