Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles

Kudrin Promises the Return of Putin the Reformer

The main political sensation in Russia this week is Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin’s statement that Russia needs fair and honest elections that would grant the authorities a mandate for executing difficult economic reforms (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, February 20). The nominally-dominant United Russia party expressed disapproval and... MORE

India’s Relations With Tajikistan: Beyond the Airbase

India’s pursuit of a stronger global role and its competition with Pakistan for influence in Afghanistan has over the past two decades pushed New Delhi towards closer engagement with Central Asia. Tajikistan has become India’s main point of entry into the region, mainly due to... MORE

Moscow Explores Asia-Pacific Security Role

Moscow’s apparently random decision to increase tensions with Tokyo over the disputed Kurile Islands provoked anxiety among international observers. Yet, the recent surge in bilateral diplomatic heat over the issue should not be regarded as unexpected or necessarily as an illustration of Moscow picking a... MORE

Gazprom-Austrian OMV Agreement: A Political Blow To Nabucco

After selling a large block of shares in Hungarian MOL to the Kremlin-connected Surgutneftegaz, Austrian OMV CEO Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer’s final gift to European energy security is an agreement with Gazprom that interferes with the EU-backed Nabucco project. On February 21 in Moscow, Gazprom CEO Aleksei... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s Awaits a New President

After experiencing a tumultuous 2010, Kyrgyzstan is facing yet another decisive test this year. Presidential elections planned for November-December 2011 will determine whether the positive trends seen in the past few months in Kyrgyzstan will continue after the incumbent leader Roza Otunbayeva steps down. The... MORE

Turkish-Iranian Economic Ties Flourish

Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, paid a four-day state visit to Iran starting on February 13, to discuss ways to further bilateral cooperation. The sheer frequency of such high level mutual visits between the two countries in recent years indicates the growing multi-dimensional ties between Ankara... MORE

Russia Mothballs Trans-Balkan Oil Pipeline Project

On February 17, the stakeholders and supervisory board of the Russian-led Burgas-Alexandropolis oil pipeline project shelved the project in all but name. The host countries, Bulgaria and Greece, had (each for its own considerations) recently suspended payments to the project company. The meeting decided to... MORE