Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
RUSSIA ASKS COUNCIL OF EUROPE TO INVESTIGATE “POLITICAL REPRESSION” IN UKRAINE
Russian President Vladimir Putin justified his policy of supporting Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the 2004 Ukrainian presidential elections by stating that it was Russian policy to only work with the elected authorities, not with the opposition. Russia has also declared that the election-monitoring missions... MORE
MOSCOW SIGNALS IT MAY REDEPLOY SOME FORCES FROM GEORGIA TO ARMENIA
Meeting with the staff of Komsomolskaya pravda on May 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, with reference to the possible closure of Russian bases in Georgia: "We must create the necessary conditions for the evacuation of our troop contingent, its accommodation on Russian territory or... MORE
JAVAKHETI REGION COMPLICATES GEORGIAN RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA
In April Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian held talks in Tbilisi following unrest in Georgia's predominately Armenian-populated southern region, Samtskhe-Javakheti. The disturbances, which calmed down soon, coincided with a parliamentary resolution about the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia,... MORE
REPORTS SUGGEST MOSCOW WANTS NEW BASE IN KYRGYZSTAN
On May 19, a Russian delegation led by Andrei Kokoshin, chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Commonwealth of Independent States, met with Kyrgyzstan's Acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in Bishkek. A number of Russian news agencies reported that they discussed many bilateral issues, including... MORE
ANDIJAN’S AFTERMATH RAISES SECURITY STAKES IN KYRGYZSTAN
Heightened security and increased concerns among Uzbekistan's immediate neighbors mark the uneasy atmosphere produced by Tashkent's crackdown in Andijan on May 13. Kyrgyzstan's security agencies are particularly anxious to avoid any spillover of political violence across the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border. Tension is high on the border... MORE
ATTEMPT AT MASS PROTEST IN KYIV DEMONSTRATES OPPOSITION WEAKNESSES
The former Ukrainian authorities, now in opposition to President Viktor Yushchenko, are trying to attract public attention to their problems. The popular Eurovision Song Contest, held May 19 in Kyiv, provided an opportunity to play to the visiting international media. Protesting against "political persecution," the... MORE
VICTORY DAY EVENTS SHOCK BELARUS
The 60th anniversary of Victory Day, commemorated on May 9, brought about two controversial and quite unexpected events for Belarus. The first was Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka's failure to appear at the grand celebrations in Moscow as anticipated. The second was the renaming of the... MORE
ASTANA’S SLAVIC HONEYMOON NEARS ITS END
The meeting between Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Chelyabinsk on May 17, and the subsequent arrival of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenka for a two-day visit to Kazakhstan the following day, allowed Astana to reiterate its commitment to Kazakhstan's alliance... MORE
RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN OIL SUMMIT: AN UNEASY, FLEETING COMPROMISE
On May 19 in Kyiv, President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and other senior Ukrainian officials met in an emergency conference with Russia's Ambassador Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian state pipeline monopoly Transneft chairman Semyon Vainshtok, and top executives of Russian oil companies and their branches... MORE
MOSCOW SIGNS BORDER AGREEMENT WITH ESTONIA
On May 18 in Moscow, Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and Urmas Paet signed a long-awaited agreement on the Russia-Estonia border. The agreement had been initialed in 1996 and reconfirmed in 1999, its content fully approved by the Russian side in all details. However,... MORE