Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
SURGE OF INTEREST IN ODESSA-BRODY OIL PIPELINE
Political transformation in Ukraine has reactivated international interest in using the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline in the originally intended northerly direction, which involves extending the pipeline into Poland to Plock and on to Gdansk. Initially designed for transporting Caspian oil to Europe, the Odessa-Brody pipeline has... MORE
RUSSIAN DIPLOMACY IN LITHUANIA: AGGRESSIVE BUT CLUMSY
Not long after Russia's new ambassador to Latvia, Viktor Kalyuzhny, had piled gaffe upon diplomatic gaffe in lecturing his host country, Russian diplomacy in Lithuania seems to demonstrate the same mix of aggressiveness and clumsiness. On March 15, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a... MORE
ARE AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA HEADED FOR NEW CONFRONTATION OVER KARABAKH?
Spring typically revives the lingering conflict over the Karabakh enclave. But according to Azerbaijani military expert Uzeyir Jafarov, "The tensions on the front line happen every spring, but this year something unusual is happening" (Echo, March 16). Jafarov's observation accurately describes the situation on the... MORE
UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CHARMS WASHINGTON
Ukraine's new Foreign Minister, Borys Tarasyuk, visited Washington, DC, on March 10-11 to prepare for a four-day state visit by President Viktor Yushchenko in the first week of April. Tarasyuk's career includes an earlier stint as Ukraine's foreign minister (1998-2000), ambassador to the Benelux countries... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN AMENDS ELECTORAL LAW, BUT REFORMS STILL LACKING
Kazakhstan's citizens have become accustomed to broken promises of radical political reform since the country became independent in 1991. Even members of Kazakhstan's "pocket parliament" admit that public confidence in the legislature's integrity has dramatically plummeted in recent years. On March 10 parliament made yet... MORE
MASS PROTESTS, LITTLE CHANGE AFTER KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARY RUNOFF
Voters in Kyrgyzstan returned to the polls on March 13 for a second round of voting for a new parliament. The results confirmed majority representation for pro-presidential forces in the next single-chamber parliament. With six months to go before the presidential election, the mass protests... MORE
RUSSIA’S GAZPROM EYES EAST ASIAN MARKETS
With the release of a strategy dubbed its "Eastern Program," the Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom revealed its plans to boost gas exports to East Asian markets in the coming years. Alexei Mastepanov, an advisor to Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller, announced the strategy at the... MORE
RUSSIAN SMALL BUSINESS: STAYING SMALL
On March 4 the Russian government announced the closure of the Federal Fund for the Support of Small Business, an agency created ten years ago with a budget of 25 billion rubles ($1 billion) to invest in small business promotion. The FFPMP set up a... MORE
BEWARE OF TRAPS IN GEORGIA-RUSSIA TROOP WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT
The Georgian Parliament passed a resolution on March 10 that requires Russia unconditionally to withdraw its forces from Georgia no later than January 1, 2006 -- unless Moscow reaches agreement with Tbilisi before May 15, 2005, on a "reasonable timeframe" for the troop withdrawal (see... MORE
PRO-WESTERN GOVERNING COALITION POSSIBLE IN MOLDOVA
On March 11, Moldova's Central Electoral Commission released the final results of the country's March 6 parliamentary elections. The outcome, verified by election observers in parallel vote-counting, shows the Communist Party with 56 parliamentary seats (one more than initially announced), the heterogeneous Bloc Moldova Democrata... MORE