Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
Russian Government Seeks to Further Limit Access to Information From the North Caucasus
On January 27, two policemen were killed and one was wounded when unidentified assailants driving in a car attacked a police car near the villages of Yandare and Gazi-Yurt in Ingushetia’s Nazran district. On the same day, another police car was attacked near the main... MORE
Belarus Accepts Drastic Reduction in Oil Subsidy From Russia
On January 27 in Moscow, Belarus accepted a drastic reduction in its traditional oil subsidy from Russia. The Russian government imposed this outcome through halting oil supplies to Belarus by pipeline almost completely since mid-January. The supply flow should now be restored, but at a... MORE
Moscow Offers a Zero-Sum Trade-off on Contentious Issues
This week, the First Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of the General Staff Army-General Nikolai Makarov attended a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) in Brussels and accepted a framework agreement to resume full-scale defense cooperation with the Alliance. This was the first meeting of... MORE
Turkish-Armenian Deal Threatens To Unravel
Armenia and Turkey have moved to the brink of reversing a universally welcomed thaw in their relations, with differing interpretations of a landmark fence-mending agreement signed in October 2009. Yerevan is threatening to annul the two “protocols” over Ankara’s continuing linkage between their implementation and... MORE
Yanukovych, Tymoshenko Hold Opposite Views on Russian Gas
Both Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and her opponent in the February 7 presidential election runoff, the former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, have sought Moscow’s support for their campaigns. Both are expected to be rather pro-Russian compared to the outgoing pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, who is... MORE
Russia’s Partnership With Belarus Hits Turbulence
Russian relations with its closest ally, Belarus, have reached a new low following a renewed dispute over energy prices and supply terms. The escalating disagreements over Russian oil supplies to Belarus now threaten to reduce shipments to Belarus refineries. Until recently, Russian crude exports to... MORE
Paris S’excuse: French Officials Rationalize Naval Rearmament of Russia
Part TwoWhile French officials improvise ad-hoc excuses on this matter, the French ambassador to the United States has exceptionally attempted a more comprehensive defense of the proposed Mistral deal with Russia. Responding to a letter of inquiry from six U.S. Senators, Ambassador Pierre Vimont made... MORE
Will Tajikistan Successfully Construct Rogun?
In his official address to Tajik citizens, President Emomali Rakhmon announced that 2010 will be the year “when great resources will be mobilized” to construct the 3,600 mw Rogun dam. “The construction of this site, important for our country, has turned into the arena of... MORE
Turkey Reacts to Armenian Constitutional Court’s Decision on Protocols
Since Turkey and Armenia finally signed the groundbreaking protocols for the normalization of their relations in October 2009, their progress has been far less impressive. The Turkish and Armenian governments’ inability or unwillingness to counter domestic opposition stalled the parliamentary ratification process. Recently, both parties... MORE
Moscow Boosts CSTO Military Dimension: on Paper
On January 18, Nikolai Bordyuzha, the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) announced that member states are planning several joint military exercises in 2010. He noted that the new CSTO Collective Operational Reaction Force (CORF) will hold an exercise at the Cherbarkul training... MORE