Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
UKRAINIAN AND MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS CLOSE RANKS, APPEAL TO EUROPEAN UNION ON GAS CRISIS
On January 3, Presidents Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine and Vladimir Voronin of Moldova announced joint steps to cope with the gas-supply crisis and appealed to the European Union to intercede with Russia in support of the Ukrainian-Moldovan position. Voronin initiated this joint demarche after Gazprom... MORE
GAZPROM HALTS GAS SUPPLIES TO MOLDOVA
On January 1, Russia's Gazprom imposed a total halt on gas deliveries to Moldova. The management in Moscow issued an internal order to its dispatchers on Ukraine's territory to reduce the supplies to Moldova to "zero level" (Moldpres, January 2). Gazprom has not officially announced... MORE
AS RUSSIA IS DOWNGRADED TO “UNFREE” IS IT UNFIT TO HEAD THE G-8?
It is perhaps fitting that the Ukraine-Russia gas conflict has rekindled debates whether Russia truly belongs in the prestigious Group of Eight (G-8) advanced liberal democratic market economies. As the Wall Street Journal Europe (January 3) editorialized, "All of this makes Russia's assumption of the... MORE
ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN HOPE TO MAKE 2006 A “YEAR OF PEACE”
For Armenia and Azerbaijan, the year 2005 was marked by intensified negotiations over a possible agreement in the Karabakh peace process. The presidents and foreign ministers of the two countries met several times during the year, and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs from France, Russia,... MORE
KREMLIN STOPS GAS DELIVERIES TO UKRAINE
Authorized by President Vladimir Putin, Gazprom halted deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine as of 10 am Moscow time on January 1. To maximize the political impact in Ukraine, Russia's state-controlled television channels showed Putin, his close aide and Gazprom chairman Dmitry Medvedev, and other... MORE
YUSHCHENKO CHALLENGES CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
On January 1, 2006, Ukraine began its transformation from a semi-presidential republic into a parliamentary democracy. The reform is in line with the constitutional amendments that the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) passed at the height of the Orange Revolution in late 2004. This was a compromise... MORE
ATASU-ALASHANKOU PIPELINE CEMENTS “STRATEGIC ALLIANCE” BETWEEN BEIJING AND ASTANA
At a solemn ceremony on December 15, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev pressed the button to officially begin pumping oil at the Atasu terminal along the new Atasu-Alashankou pipeline. The ceremony took place at the main control center of the Kazakh national oil transport company, KazTransOil.... MORE
KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT UNABLE TO REGULATE CROSSINGS ALONG BORDER WITH UZBEKISTAN
In the course of only a week in December several violent incidents took place between Kyrgyz and Uzbek civilians and border guards, and between Kyrgyz border guards and militia in the Fergana Valley region. While the Kyrgyz government has not made any public statement about... MORE
OWNERSHIP OF UKRAINE’S TRANSIT SYSTEM — MAIN STAKE IN THE GAS DISPUTE WITH RUSSIA
The barely hidden stake has now surfaced in full view in the Russia-Ukraine confrontation over gas prices and transit. The main stake is ownership of Ukraine's transit pipelines that carry Russian gas to Europe. Moscow appears willing to accommodate Kyiv on the gas price if... MORE
NEW INFORMATION EMERGES ON UZBEK ISLAMISTS, BUT IS IT ACCURATE?
The Russian newspaper Moskovsky novosti recently published an extensive interview with Shuhrat Masirokhunov, identified as the former chief of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan's Counterintelligence Service. Masirokhunov was extradited from Pakistan to Uzbekistan a few months ago. His comments should provide considerable insight into the... MORE