Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
WANTED: COMPETITIVE IDEOLOGY AND ATTRACTIVE SOCIAL MODEL TO HELP RUSSIA RETAIN ITS CRUMBLING SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
The Kremlin's recent foreign-policy failures, particularly its inglorious defeat in the "battle for Ukraine," appear to have sparked a review of Russia's policies towards its neighbors in the post-Soviet space. Aware that Moscow is losing the geopolitical competition in the Commonwealth of Independent States to... MORE
NO LONGER NEEDING U.S. SUPPORT, KUCHMA WANTS TO BRING TROOPS HOME ON HIS WATCH
On January 10, President Leonid Kuchma held a meeting to discuss the deteriorating situation in Iraq. Eight Ukrainian troops died when a bomb they were defusing went off accidentally on January 9. Another seven Ukrainian troops were injured. Ukraine has the fourth-largest military contingent in... MORE
UKRAINE HAS DONE ITS DUTY IN IRAQ
On January 11-12, the U.S. State Department added an unnecessary complication to Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yushchenko's internal political challenges. Questioning Ukraine's political decision to withdraw its 1,600 troops from Iraq, the Department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli in Washington and U.S. Ambassador John Herbst in Kyiv... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN SUFFERS FIRST DEATH OF PEACEKEEPER IN IRAQ
Kazakhstan has suffered its first military casualty in Iraq. On January 9 Captain Kayrat Kudabayev died from his injuries after an explosion in Al-Suwaira, north of Wasit province. This incident marks a significant test for Kazakhstan in its ongoing commitment to peace support operations within... MORE
ASTANA PLEDGES STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA
On January 12 Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Almaty for a two-day official visit, his first foreign trip of the new year. Abandoning the usual practice of announcing upcoming visits by state leaders, Kazakhstan's official media refrained from publicizing Putin's visit prior to his... MORE
UZBEKISTAN BULLDOZES SETTLEMENTS ALONG BORDER WITH KAZAKHSTAN
A tense situation is unfolding near the South Kazakhstan--Uzbekistan border. In a program approved by Uzbekistan's Prime Minister, Shavkat Mirziyaev, local authorities are planning to demolish settlements and private dachas that happen to be located in the zone of border delimitation. Two districts of the... MORE
BALTIC DILEMMAS AND THE MOSCOW SUMMIT
On January 12, Latvia's President Vaira Vike-Freiberga announced that she would be attending the VE-Day 60th anniversary summit to be held in May in Moscow. The issue is deeply controversial in the three Baltic states, and Vike-Freiberga's announcement scuttles the November 2004 agreement by the... MORE
FORMER ABKHAZ PRESIDENTIAL RIVALS UNITE UNDER PRESSURE FROM MOSCOW
Georgia's breakaway region Abkhazia holds a second round of its presidential elections today (January 12). Sergei Bagapsh claimed victory in the initial election on October 3, 2004. However, Russian officials soon arrived in Abkhazia to annul the result. Russia forced Bagapsh to re-run the election,... MORE
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO DECLARED UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT
On January 10, Ukraine's Central Election Commission (CEC) officially declared opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko to be Ukraine's third president. The final vote count stood at 51.99% for Yushchenko compared to Viktor Yanukovych's 44.20%. Thirteen CEC members voted in favor of the ruling while two abstained.... MORE
RUSSIA’S PACIFIC OIL PIPELINE SEEN AS DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
Russia has long heralded its "strategic energy partnership" with China, yet Moscow has recently approved the Japan-bound East Siberia-Pacific oil pipeline. Now Russia is struggling to offer Beijing a sufficient consolation prize. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that China' state oil company, CNPC,... MORE