Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
ARMENIA GAINS SHORT REPRIEVE FROM 100% PRICE HIKE ON RUSSIAN GAS
At a December 16, 2005 meeting in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom's top management informed Armenian President Robert Kocharian that the price of gas supplies to Armenia would rise from the existing level of $54 to $56 per 1,000 cubic meters to $110,... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN LOOKS WARILY TO NATO
Kazakhstan continues to strengthen its ties with the NATO Alliance, despite its close relations with Russia and China and the pressures this brings to the Nazarbayev regime. Officials on both sides met recently to conclude an individual partnership action plan (IPAP), which will form the... MORE
IS BAKIYEV LOSING LEGITIMACY?
Almost ten months after the March 24 Tulip Revolution, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is losing public support due to continuing political assassinations, increased open challenges to the government by criminal figures, and poor political and economic performance of the state. Together, these trends make Kyrgyzstan... MORE
PUTIN-YUSHCHENKO JOINT DECLARATION ON MOLDOVA CRITICIZED BY ROMANIA
With a delay caused by the extended winter holidays, Romania has reacted critically to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's joint declaration on how to resolve the Transnistria conflict. Romania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, has commented in an interview... MORE
ROSNEFT EYES NEW FIELDS IN EASTERN SIBERIA AND BEYOND
Rosneft, Russia's state-owned oil titan, has been pursuing a very aggressive policy in recent months in order to boost its clout in Eastern Siberia. In the meantime, Rosneft's pro-active approach has been seen as a part of the Kremlin's broader strategy to rely on major... MORE
HAS MOSCOW TURNED ITS BACK ON TEHRAN?
The protracted, slow-moving intrigue around Iran's nuclear program accelerated sharply last week as the international seals on the research facility at Natanz were removed. The frustrated European "troika" -- France, Germany, and the UK -- interrupted their fruitless negotiations with Iran, and the United States... MORE
YUSHCHENKO SWEARS BY RUSSIAN GAS DEAL WHILE YEKHANUROV SPILLS THE BEANS
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is risking his political credibility by blindly defending the Russian-Ukrainian gas deal despite severe criticism of it by Western and Ukrainian experts and a majority of the Ukrainian parliament. Rather than addressing the agreement on its merits, Yushchenko ignores Western critics... MORE
IVANOV RESTATES KREMLIN’S MONROE DOCTRINE
An increasingly assertive Moscow appears to be revising the organizational forms it has used to dominate the post-Soviet space. While a growing number of influential Russian policymakers and pundits speak in favor of relegating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to the dustbin of history,... MORE
ARMENIAN OLIGARCH MAKES BID FOR POWER WITH NEW POLITICAL PARTY
Armenia's arguably wealthiest government-connected businessman has caused a stir in the domestic political arena by setting up a new party with far-reaching political ambitions. Gagik Tsarukian appears to have enlisted the support of prominent public figures and even an opposition leader for his bid to... MORE
RESIDENTS ANGRY AS AZERBAIJAN HIKES GASOLINE PRICES
The new year has brought new economic surprises for the average Azerbaijani citizen. The Council on Tariffs decided on January 6 to double the price of diesel fuel (from 20 cents per liter to 40 cents), giving it the same price tag as regular gasoline.... MORE