Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
WAS THE RICE-LAVROV QUARREL REALLY ABOUT BELARUS?
Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual state of the nation address, given April 25, was remarkable for one glaring omission. It was quite surprising that Putin did not say one word about Russia's "brotherly" relations with Belarus, providing only an abbreviated sketch of the whole area... MORE
RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES PRESS AHEAD WITH PLANS TO COMBINE ADYGEYA AND KRASNODAR KRAI
Plans to unify two Caucasian regions of Russia, Adygeya and Krasnodar Krai, have seriously aggravated the situation in Adygeya, the most stable national republic of the violent North Caucasus. On April 23, about 10,000 people participated in a protest rally in Maikop, the Adygeyan capital.... MORE
ARMENIAN REGIME CONFIDENT AS OPPOSITION AGAIN PLEDGES “REVOLUTION”
"Revolution" is again a buzzword in Armenia. Armenian opposition leaders, buoyed by a series of successful anti-government uprisings across the former Soviet Union, have opened a new political season with pledges to effect regime change in their country in a similar fashion. Some of them... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN MOVES CLOSER TOWARDS FUTURE NATO INTEGRATION
Kazakhstan has moved significantly nearer its ambition to gain closer and more effective relations with the NATO Alliance. Astana has decided to abandon its long-term reliance upon dated Soviet munitions and Russian replacements. Instead, it will now prioritize the manufacture of NATO-standard ammunition for its... MORE
UKRAINE MOVES CLOSER TO NATO MEMBERSHIP
At the April 20-21 summit of NATO foreign ministers in Vilnius, Ukraine was invited to begin an Intensified Dialogue on Membership. The Intensified Dialogue is commonly viewed as the precursor to being invited to enter the Membership Action Plan (MAP) process, a stage that is... MORE
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT TRAVELS TO MIDDLE EAST, BEARING GIFTS FOR ALL
From April 26-30 Russian President Vladimir Putin will make an unprecedented trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and he will be the first Russian leader to visit Egypt in 40 years. Putin's Middle East tour has a very clear set of objectives. Essentially Putin... MORE
BUSINESS AS USUAL: ASTANA AND BISHKEK RESTORE OLD TIES
Kyrgyzstan's acting president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, visited Almaty on April 22. Despite the ceremonial pleasantries, Bakiyev's reception was not nearly as pompous and cordial as the one given to Kyrgyzstan's toppled president, Askar Akayev, during his first visit in 1997. Instead, Bakiyev seemed to be the... MORE
AFGHANS AGAIN HEAR TALIBAN ON THE AIRWAVES
On April 17 a new voice was added to the rather crowded airwaves in Afghanistan: Shariat Zhagh, the "Voice of Shariat." For those Afghans who had all but forgotten the Taliban, it was a disturbing and chilling surprise (VOA, April 22). Literally meaning the "Voice... MORE
POROSHENKO PLAN STUNS NEIGHBORS, DISRUPTS GUAM
Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary Petro Poroshenko's conflict-resolution plan for Transnistria nearly derailed the GUAM summit in Chisinau (see EDM, April 25, 26, 27) and appeared to change the approach previously taken by Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Transnistria issue.... MORE
POROSHENKO DRAFTS, YUSHCHENKO LAUNCHES A PLAN FOR TRANSNISTRIA
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Secretary, Petro Poroshenko, has prepared a Transnistria settlement proposal that embarrassed President Viktor Yushchenko at the April 22 GUAM summit. The proposals disrupted the event (see EDM, April 25, 26), raised questions about Kyiv's willingness to overcome certain... MORE