Latest Articles about Central Asia
ANTICLIMACTIC END TO KYRGYZ REVOLUTION
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's August 14 inauguration demonstrated that Western expectations and Russian fears of a democratic revolution in Kyrgyzstan were equally misplaced. By the same token, the inauguration and its immediate aftermath highlighted the daunting cultural distance to democracy that Kyrgyzstan (and some of... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN’S TRANS-CASPIAN OIL EXPORT PLANS AND ITS COMPETITORS
Interviewed in the current issue of the Caspian Investor monthly, Kazakhstan's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Vladimir Shkolnik confirms that negotiations are advancing toward an agreement on the transportation of oil from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan and through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (Turkey) pipeline. At the same time,... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN QUESTIONS U.S. MILITARY ROLE IN CENTRAL ASIA
Kazakhstan's delicate foreign policy, predicated upon balancing its relations among China, Russia, and the United States, has come under increased pressure both from its involvement in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the growing tendency within the region to question the long-term strategic role of... MORE
CHINA, INDIA LINE UP TO COMPETE FOR KAZAKH OIL DEALS
Kazakhstan's ongoing oil saga has experienced an unexpected turn of events in recent weeks. First, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Vladimir Shkolnik broke the news that Kazakhstan would sign an agreement on joining the much-debated Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in October 2005. As recently as his... MORE
MOSCOW’S CENTRAL ASIAN FRIENDS CAMPAIGN AGAINST U.S. BASES
On August 5 and 10, respectively, the heads of presidential think tanks in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan made statements to local media, calling for the removal of U.S. bases from Central Asia. Their statements largely reflected Moscow's public arguments to that end. In Bishkek, Valentin Bogatyrev,... MORE
KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTRY REFUTES ARGUMENTS ABOUT TERRITORIAL CONCESSIONS
Kazakhstan's border delimitation process has always been an issue shrouded in mystery, even for residents of the border areas. The authorities have previously accused journalists in South Kazakhstan of issuing inaccurate reports that damage relations with Uzbekistan. Therefore, journalists hungry for first-hand information were excited... MORE
KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTRY REFUTES ARGUMENTS ABOUT TERRITORIAL CONCESSIONS
Kazakhstan's border delimitation process has always been an issue shrouded in mystery, even for residents of the border areas. The authorities have previously accused journalists in South Kazakhstan of issuing inaccurate reports that damage relations with Uzbekistan. Therefore, journalists hungry for first-hand information were excited... MORE
ANDIJAN LEADER THREATENS “CAMPAIGN OF TERROR” AGAINST KARIMOV REGIME
Kabul Parpiyev, a leader of the May uprising in Andijan, Uzbekistan, is threatening to unleash a campaign of terror against the regime of Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Parpiyev is currently in hiding. In an interview with the Toronto-based Globe and Mail newspaper, Parpiyev stated that... MORE
U.S. REVIEWING OPTIONS IN CENTRAL ASIA
Faced with restrictions on the use of its air base in Uzbekistan and, now, an eviction notice (see EDM, August 4), the United States is looking for alternative or substitute basing options in the region. An active search had begun in the wake of the... MORE
IS UZBEKISTAN BURNING ITS BRIDGES WITH THE U.S.?
On August 3, Uzbek state media announced that the government had asked the United States to vacate the Karshi-Khanabad air base and withdraw its military units from Uzbekistan. The government had delivered that request to the U.S. Embassy on July 29, but did not immediately... MORE