Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
BLACK SEA FORUM SEEKING ITS RATIONALE
Presidents Traian Basescu of Romania, Vladimir Voronin of Moldova, Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, Robert Kocharian of Armenia, and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan were joined by senior officials from the United States, Turkey, Bulgaria, and international organizations at the inaugural session of... MORE
ANOTHER SENATOR IS FIRED: THE KREMLIN TARGETS THE LEADER OF KALMYKIA
Russia continues to be rocked by purges of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament, where deputies (often called "senators") represent regional governments. On May 14, Sergei Mironov, speaker of the Federation Council, dismissed four members of the Council. The ousted senators... MORE
HOW “UNITED” IS THE UNITED OPPOSITION IN BELARUS?
The united opposition campaign during the 2006 Belarusian presidential election was a creditable effort, particularly in the weeks leading up to the vote as well during the protests afterward in October Square. Though hundreds were arrested, and the crackdown by the authorities is continuing, there... MORE
PARTY OF REGIONS CONTINUES TO PLAY ON YUSHCHENKO’S WEAKNESSES
The Ukrainian opposition, entrenched in the south and east of the country, continues to score points in its tug-of-war with Kyiv. More councils are raising the status of the Russian language in defiance of the constitution; regional governors appointed by Yushchenko after the Orange Revolution... MORE
CAN ABKHAZ AND GEORGIAN PEACE PLANS COEXIST?
As expected, the Abkhaz separatists rejected the peace plan that the Georgian government had offered in response to an earlier Abkhaz framework (see EDM, May 10). Sergei Shamba, the self-styled Abkhaz foreign minister, had officially submitted the Abkhaz plan while he was Tbilisi on May... MORE
RUSSIA VIEWS THE VIENNA AGREEMENTS ON IRAN AS VICTORY
The five-power agreement on Iran reached in Vienna on June 1 represented a victory for Russian diplomacy, in that Moscow and China's tenacity forced Washington to consent to direct participation in talks with Iran, provided it ceases uranium reprocessing and enrichment under IAEA verification (www.payvand.com... MORE
CRITICISM, SUSPICIONS MOUNT REGARDING CLOSED TALKS ON MANAS
Talks aimed at settling the dispute over the future of the Manas coalition base in Bishkek ended without agreement, despite intense negotiations May 31-June 1. The U.S. delegation, headed by Robert Loftis, met with senior officials from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense and Ministry of... MORE
BISHKEK BECOMES SCENE OF CONTINUOUS ANTI-GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATIONS
For more than a year the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, has witnessed numerous demonstrations and protests. According to estimates from the Ministry of the Interior, on average there have been two different protests each day in various parts of the country since the beginning of 2006.... MORE
RUSSIA EYES CENTRAL ASIA URANIUM DEPOSITS
Officials in Russia’s nuclear sector have long eyed Central Asia’s uranium deposits. Now Russia appears prepared to invest in the uranium-mining sector in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in order to supplement domestic production. In May representatives from the Russian nuclear agency, Rosatom, and Kazakhstan's nuclear company,... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN RELENTING ON U.S. AIR BASE
On May 31-June 2 in Bishkek, American and Kyrgyz negotiators made some progress toward a possible agreement to prolong the use of the Manas air base by U.S. and allied forces. Kyrgyzstan no longer seeks a “hundredfold” increase in U.S. annual rent payments, as President... MORE