Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
NEW UNREST IN JAVAKHETI PROMPTS WARNING FROM YEREVAN
Akhalkalaki, the main town in the predominantly Armenian-populated and Armenia-bordered Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia, was the site of an anti-government protest rally on October 5. The incident reaffirmed that this turbulent region remains unstable, despite the Georgian government's efforts to normalize the situation there. The... MORE
TAJIKISTAN SEARCHES FOR BORDER SECURITY ASSISTANCE
Tajikistan has launched another serious diplomatic effort aimed at increasing its border security capabilities and addressing the long-standing international security issues presented by the weakness of the Tajik-Afghan border. Dushanbe is looking not only towards the United States and NATO, but also seeking funding from... MORE
CACO-EEC MERGE TO ELIMINATE OVERLAPPING GOALS
As leaders of Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan gathered for the October 6 Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO) summit in St. Petersburg, they decided to merge their grouping with yet another post-Soviet institution. The move appears to indicate that Moscow's policies in Central Eurasia still... MORE
KYRGYZ, UZBEK LEADERS CHOOSE COLD PEACE OVER OPEN CONFRONTATION
On October 6 Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov held a bilateral meeting to discuss future cooperation. The meeting took place during Central Asian Cooperation Organization summit in St. Petersburg. This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two presidents following several... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN STRENGTHENS TIES WITH NATO
Kazakhstan has taken further steps towards strengthening its partnership with the NATO Alliance, as part of its ongoing strategy aimed at improving its domestic and regional security while balancing its relations with the United States, Russia, and China. During a visit to Kazakhstan in early... MORE
NOBEL COMMITTEE SENDS WARNING TO THE RUSSIAN MILITARY
The Kremlin approved wholeheartedly the "exceptionally right decision" to award the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, noting particularly that "he does not react on various shouts and is a very reliable partner" (Newsru.com, October 7). Apparently,... MORE
MOLDOVA: TWO STOOLS FOR THE WEST, TWO GILDED CHAIRS FOR MOSCOW AND TIRASPOL
The United States and the European Union have accepted the status of observers to the "five-sided" format of negotiations toward conflict-resolution in Moldova. That format, created by Yevgeny Primakov in 1997 and abandoned by Moldova in 2004, had pitted Moscow, Kyiv, Tiraspol, and the OSCE... MORE
MOSCOW SKILLFULLY USES ENERGY LEVERAGE TO DIVIDE EUROPE
The October 4 Russia-EU summit in London, as well as the talks Russian President Vladimir Putin held with Belgian leaders in Brussels on October 3 and with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on October 5, once again laid bare an important aspect of modern geopolitical... MORE
RUSSIAN LIBERALS JOIN FORCES FOR MOSCOW ELECTIONS
On September 25, the Union of Right Forces and Yabloko, Russia's two main democratic parties, announced the formation of coalition for the December 4 Moscow City Duma election. The two parties will field a single list of candidates. Evoking the old adage: "Our strength is... MORE
PACE ASKS FOR FULL INVESTIGATION OF GONGADZE CASE
On October 5 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) issued a resolution requesting that the Ukrainian authorities deal with different aspects of the investigation into the murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze (assembly.coe.int). However, the Ukrainian authorities will not honor that request. The... MORE