Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE ASSASSINATED IN AFGHANISTAN
On Monday, September 27, Ashraf Ramazan, a prominent parliamentary candidate from Balkh, a northern province, was assassinated in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif in broad daylight. One of his bodyguards was also killed, while another bodyguard and their driver were injured. Ramazan reportedly was running third... MORE
WAS IT MOSTLY IRAN THAT RICE DISCUSSED WITH LAVROV AND PUTIN IN MOSCOW?
The content and the outcome of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s “emergency” visit to Moscow last Friday and Saturday remain clouded by diplomatic smoke and mirrors. That overnight stay had certainly not been planned. After visiting three Central Asian states (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan)... MORE
SEPTEMBER CRISIS OVER, BUT STRATEGIC PROBLEMS REMAIN FOR YUSHCHENKO
President Viktor Yushchenko has declared that the political crisis in Ukraine is over. The turmoil began on September 5 with allegations of corruption within his inner circle (Channel 5 TV, October 6). Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, a close ally of Yushchenko’s, added that there are... MORE
WILL U.S. DEPORT FORMER SUMY GOVERNOR TO UKRAINE?
U.S. authorities have detained a prominent representative of Ukraine's old regime, former Sumy Region governor Volodymyr Shcherban, in Florida. Like disgraced former prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko in New York six years ago, Shcherban was detained on an immigration violation. Lazarenko had applied for political asylum.... MORE
RUSSIA, ARMENIA IN JOINT BID TO STAVE OFF ANOTHER EX-SOVIET REVOLUTION
The leaderships of Russia and Armenia have underscored their persisting concerns about the spread of anti-government uprisings across the former Soviet Union by holding a joint exercise of their special police forces. The extraordinary move comes less than two months before a tense constitutional referendum... MORE
MOSCOW SEES SU-27 CRASH AS OPPORTUNITY FOR NATO COOPERATION
Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has seized on the SU-27 crash in Lithuania to reaffirm Moscow's proposal for joint airspace monitoring and civilian and military air traffic control by NATO and Russia over the Baltic states, through the aegis of the NATO-Russia Council (NAC). Russia's... MORE
NALCHIK UNDER ATTACK: MOSCOW UNABLE TO RESPOND
Early in the morning of October 13, police in Kabardino-Balkaria received an anonymous telephone tip that gunmen had been seen near the Belya Rechka River on the outskirts of Nalchik, the local capital. Police and military Special Forces units rushed to the scene. About 8:30... MORE
PROBLEMS MOUNT FOR GEORGIAN ARMY
Almost every day, Georgian television airs government-sponsored ads inviting Georgians to join the mighty Georgian army. While, this patriotic display tries to create a rosy picture of Georgia's military potential, the reality is more alarming than inspiring. This week over 40% of the Georgian military's... MORE
BALTS, NATO, EU DIGESTING LESSONS FROM RUSSIAN PLANE CRASH IN LITHUANIA
Lithuania has completed a three-week investigation into the Russian Su-27 fighter jet's September 15 intrusion and crash in the country (see EDM, September 20, 27). The plane, flying tail in a seven-plane squadron en route from Russia's Leningrad Region to Kaliningrad Region over the Baltic... MORE
FOOTPRINTS FROM THE NORTH IN CENTRAL ASIA AND AFGHANISTAN
Amid politically correct disclaimers of any intent to compete with the United States in Central Asia, Moscow is multiplying its efforts to capitalize on Washington's recent difficulties in the region. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and other Russian officials are criticizing U.S. and the... MORE