Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
AZERBAIJAN ON THE WEST’S NEW FRONTIER OF ENERGY SECURITY (Part 1)
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's April 24-28 visit to Washington spotlighted the urgency of opening direct Western access to eastern Caspian oil and gas reserves. U.S. policy seems, however tentatively, to move in that direction; the European Union is only beginning to consider the issue; and... MORE
KREMLIN TRIES TO CONVINCE WARY WEST THAT STRONG GAZPROM IS GOOD FOR IT
Several seemingly disparate events that occurred this week -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's talks in Greece and Turkey, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Siberian city of Tomsk, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Washington, and the discussions... MORE
A MURKY MEETING IN MOSCOW ON MOLDOVA
The United States and European Union are maintaining full secrecy over the April 19 Moscow meeting on Moldova. The Russian and Ukrainian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the EU's Special Representative on Moldova, the U.S. State Department, and the OSCE's American-led Moldova Mission participated in the... MORE
PUTIN PLEASES ENVIRONMENTALISTS BY RE-ROUTING PACIFIC PIPELINE
As Russia prepares to start construction of a major oil pipeline from East Siberia to the Pacific tomorrow, April 28, the Kremlin offered a generous gesture towards environmentalists unhappy with the pipeline's route. The pipeline is considered to be a major channel for implementing Moscow's... MORE
RUSSIAN FORCES DRILL FOR POSSIBLE REBEL OFFENSIVE IN NORTH CAUCASUS
Russian authorities are preparing for a summer or autumn rebel offensive in the North Caucasus. "It will be a hot summer," Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer told AFP. As far back as January Russian generals had recognized the possibility of rebel attacks in any part... MORE
AZERBAIJAN FEARS STANDOFF BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND TEHRAN
Yesterday, April 26, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev began a three-day visit to the United States. This is his first official visit to Washington, which many observers believe will boost U.S.-Azerbaijan strategic relations. Heading the list of topics that President Aliev and President George W. Bush... MORE
MOSCOW MOVING AGAINST YUKOS AND LITHUANIA AHEAD OF G-8 ENERGY SUMMIT
Surprisingly, the United States and European Union are not raising the issue of Russia's destruction of the Yukos oil company and attempt to grab its assets in Lithuania ahead of the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg, which Russia wants to focus on energy cooperation. Perhaps... MORE
YUSHCHENKO’S TEAM REJECTS TYMOSHENKO’S PRIME MINISTERIAL AMBITION
Yulia Tymoshenko's desire to return to the prime minister's chair has become the main obstacle to restoring the Orange Revolution coalition in order to form a majority in Ukraine's newly elected parliament. President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc has rejected Tymoshenko's demand that the distribution... MORE
CRITICS PRESS FOR IMPROVED JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE IN GEORGIA
Tbilisi has responded to international and domestic complaints that Georgia's judiciary frequently makes unfair, politically motivated decisions. President Mikheil Saakashvili, known as the "Godfather" of Georgia's 1997-98 judicial reforms, now admits that the reform drive has not been a complete success. During a meeting with... MORE
POLITICAL CONFRONTATION DETRACTS FROM ACUTE CHERNOBYL PROBLEMS IN BELARUS
As the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl approaches in Belarus, and the opposition forces plan a final protest march on April 26 in the aftermath of the presidential elections, there is no sign that the country has come close to overcoming the profound health, social, and... MORE