Saakashvili: I`ll Sell Ministers` HomesLas Vegas SunTbilisi, January 9: The former opposition leader who won last weekend`s presidential vote in Georgia said he will sell the palatial homes of government ministers and live and work in modest quarters. Mikhail Saakashvili, who will be inaugurated Jan. 25, said the government of this former Soviet republic should sell the elaborate Krtsanisi presidential residence and put the money into the state budget. `We will sell all the ministers` dachas. Not a single minister will have a dacha. The president will not have a dacha in Georgia,` Saakashvili said on Rustavi-2 television late Thursday. Saakashvili, 36, was the driving force behind peaceful demonstrations that brought down former President Eduard Shevardnadze, who presided over parliamentary elections widely considered fraudulent. On Friday, interim president Nino Burdzhanadze said new parliamentary elections will be held March 28. Burdzhanadze, who was speaker of the previous parliament and leads a party that opposed Shevardnadze, urged voters to support Saakashvili and his allies. `I want to stress that we are all members of the same team and will do all we can to set the country on the course for normal and dignified life,` he said. Georgia also has asked Switzerland to block any bank accounts belonging to officials close to Shevardnadze, a Swiss official said Friday. But Swiss authorities asked for more information because the request, sent in December, was too general and lacked sufficient detail, said Folco Galli, a Justice Ministry spokesman.
Georgian Parliamentary Elections Scheduled For March 28Kabar AgencyTbilisi, January 9: Snap parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia on March 28, 2004, Acting Georgian President Nino Burdzhanadze announced today. He noted that initially parliamentary elections were expected to be set for March 7, 2004, however, after consultations with oppositional parliamentary factions, they decided to allow more time for election campaigns. Meanwhile, some oppositional forces do not approve of this decision and demand that elections should be postponed until May 2004. The acting president explained such a delay was impossible as Georgia urgently needed reforms, and reforms would be postponed if elections were scheduled for May.
Georgia`s Leader Is Keen To Move OnThe Moscow TimesTbilisi, January 8: Georgia`s new leader, Mikheil Saakashvili, received a pat on the back from U.S. President George W. Bush for his landslide election victory, as his foreign minister traveled for talks in Moscow in part of an effort to improve strained relations with Russia. Georgian Foreign Minister Tedo Japaridze met Thursday in Moscow with Colonel-General Yury Baluyevsky, the first deputy of the General Staff, to discuss a disputed timetable for withdrawing the Russian troops that remain in Georgia as a Soviet holdover. No decisions were made, Itar-Tass and Interfax reported, as Defense Ministry officials appeared to rule out a speedy withdrawal. Bush telephoned Saakashvili Wednesday and congratulated him on his victory, Georgian government spokesman Georgy Arvaladze said. `[Bush] told him there were lots of hopes and expectations about the new Georgia,` Arvaladze said, adding that Bush had invited the U.S.-trained lawyer to visit the United States as soon as possible `to shake hands.` Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said the U.S. leader had voiced support for Saakashvili`s plans `to advance democratic and market economic reforms, to fight corruption, to strengthen the partnership with the United States and to bolster relations with Russia.` Arvaladze said Saakashvili also discussed security with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and received congratulations from foreign leaders including British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard SchrÚder.
Kazakh Parliamentarian Calls For Increase In Size Of ParliamentRadio Free EuropeAstana, January 7: Mazhilis (lower house of the Kazakh parliament) deputy Serikbolsyn Abdildin, head of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, has called for constitutional changes that would increase the size of the country`s top legislative body, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 7 January. The parliament is considering changes to election legislation prior to parliamentary elections later this year. Abdildin proposed increasing the number of Mazhilis members to 118 from the present 67 and reducing the number of upper-chamber members to 32 by abolishing the practice of having seven members appointed by the president. The resulting parliament would comprise 150 members, with one member for each 100,000 constituents.
New Kazakh First Deputy Premier NamedRadio Free EuropeAstana, January 6: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev has appointed National Bank Chairman Grigorii Marchenko as first deputy prime minister, gazeta.kz and Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 6 January. Marchenko replaces Aleksandr Pavlov, who is being given another, unspecified job. Most recently, Pavlov has been involved in apparently successful efforts to prevent widespread flooding in South Kazakhstan (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 6 January 2004). Marchenko attracted attention last year when he threatened to resign if the Russian ruble is adopted as the common currency of the Eurasian Economic Union (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 9 April 2003). One of Marchenko`s deputies at the National Bank, Anvar Saidenov, has been named the bank`s acting chairman. Another bank deputy chairman, Bolat Zhamishev, has been appointed to head the newly created state regulatory agency for financial markets and financial organizations.
Karimov`s Daughter Speaks OutThe IndependentTashkent, January 6: She is known as the Uzbek Princess, a powerful businesswoman, tipped by many to succeed her father as ruler of the largest country in Central Asia. But Gulnara Karimova has been branded a harridan, a wicked witch, a dragon lady. Her bitter divorce battle has spiralled into an international scandal, involving accusations of kidnapping, corruption and dirty politics. It may even have significant implications for America`s `war against terrorism`. When I meet Ms Karimova in the foyer café of a smart Moscow hotel, the 31-year-old seems an unlikely source of such controversy. She wishes to reply to her critics, she tells me. Yet she appears quiet, almost shy, but very beautiful. In a city full of new-rich exhibitionists, she is modestly dressed, with almost no make-up and her hat pulled far down over her forehead. But this fugitive from US justice, accused of `kidnapping` her children, is determined to set the record straight. `It is all a terrible mess,` she says. `I didn`t want it to turn out like this. I just wanted a normal, civilised divorce.` Karimova`s predicament derives from an extraordinary set of circumstances that reflect extraordinary times. A Harvard-educated martial-arts black belt, she is the elder daughter of Islam Karimov, the former Communist Party leader and now President of Uzbekistan - America`s key strategic foothold in Central Asia.
To Work Not To Dabble In PoliticsKazakhstanskaya PravdaAstana, January 6: Valentina Sivryukova, NGO Confederation president addressed press conference held 6 January in Astana. Kazakhstan NGO sector is considered to be basically moulded, V.Sivryukova said. Civil Forum was the most remarkable outcome of 2003 - the event NGO had been heading for nearly 12 years. Summing up NGO trouble spots laid open at the Forum, President Administration drew up correspondent problem - solving action plan. NGO confederation intends to proceed with draft on state social order previously listed on law - making plan. Law on NGO was not set aside either. V.Sivryukova holds the law as needless. Amendments to the acting legislature, particularly to the Civil Code, would be sufficient for legal interpretation of NGO concepts. The Confederation concentrates on elaboration of NGO - power structures interplay mechanisms.
Kazakh President Replaces Top Financial OfficialsInterfaxAstana, January 6: President Nursultan Nazarbayev has replaced some of Kazakhstan`s top finance officials, his press service said on Tuesday. National Bank Chairman Grigory Marchenko has been appointed first deputy prime minister, replacing Alexander Pavlov. In addition, National Bank Deputy Chairman Anvar Saidenov became the bank`s acting chairman. Another National Bank deputy chairman, Bolat Zhamishev, was appointed chairman of the newly formed state regulatory and supervisory agency for financial markets and financial organizations.
Saakashvili Tells AP He`ll Fix GeorgiaThe Washington TimesTbilisi, January 5: Attacking corruption is the key to fixing Georgia`s many troubles, and the targets will include the assets of ousted President Eduard Shevardnadze, the country`s new leader said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press. Mikhail Saakashvili, leader of the wave of November protests that drove out Shevardnadze, won an apparent landslide victory in presidential elections Sunday, six weeks after Shevardnadze stepped down. Saakashvili said his first efforts after being inaugurated on Jan. 25 - coincidentally, Shevardnadze`s birthday - will be to push for `drastic anti-corruption legislation.` Graft, including the siphoning off of foreign aid and state assets falling into private hands, has weakened the country to the brink of collapse, and `the richest of them all was the Shevardnadze family,` Saakashvili told the AP and Associated Press Television News in his first wide-ranging comments to Western media after Sunday`s vote. `I never promised Shevardnadze we would not take assets he misappropriated. I promised him his physical security,` the 36-year-old, U.S.-educated lawyer said at an interview at the Krtsanisi presidential residence in the steep hills on the edge of the capital, Tbilisi. The U.S. State Department said Georgia`s presidential election marks a significant step forward in the development of democracy in the former Soviet republic. `It is clear that the Georgian people have spoken and they support Mikhail Saakashvili`s plan to reform Georgia,` Adam Ereli, a department spokesman said. He said the United States looks forward to working closely with President-elect Saakashvili to support Georgia`s democratic and market-oriented economic reforms and fight against corruption.
Theatre Struggles For Survival In KyrgyzstanSwiss InfoBishkek, January 5: The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has provided funding for Asanbekov`s Sakhna theatre company. The director believes Switzerland`s multicultural status makes it more receptive to the need to preserve other nations` cultures. This, he adds, is a pressing need in Kyrgyzstan, where the arts have suffered due to the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the advent of independence. `At the time [of the Soviet Union], the government designated specialists which it trained and supported financially,` Asanbekov says. `Today, the level of qualification among specialists has dropped dramatically. Meanwhile, there is an almost complete indifference towards the arts.` Preoccupied government One of the biggest obstacles to a flourishing arts scene in Kyrgyzstan is the lack of government support. Culture has no place among the current priorities of the state and funding has been reduced to virtually nothing. In fact, Asanbekov is now the only dramatic arts specialist trained in Moscow under the old regime, who is left in Kyrgyzstan. But he has ignored the lure of a more lucrative career abroad and has set off on a mission on home soil. Asanbekov plans to stage plays using legends and stories from the past, in a bid to prevent the country`s thousand-year-old culture from disappearing into obscurity.
Georgia`s Presidential Elections Meet Approval Of ObserversKabar AgencyTbilisi, January 5: Observers from CIS member states have generally approved of Georgia`s recent presidential elections, head of the CIS corresponding mission Yury Yarov announced at a press conference in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, today. Yarov specified that the mission had been watching the course of the election campaign in Georgia since December 11, 2003. On January 4, over 80 CIS observers did their duty in 62 election districts of Georgia. According to the official, in spite of the fact that Georgia`s extraordinary presidential elections were held under complicated political, social and economic circumstances, all conditions for monitoring the elections were provided in full. In general, the elections were conducted in accordance with the Georgian constitution and election legislation, Yarov noted. He also pointed out the Georgian Central Election Commission`s ambition for fair elections.
Preliminary Data Shows Saakashvili With 95 per cent Of VoteInterfaxTbilisi, January 5: Mikhail Saakashvili gained 95 per cent of the vote in the Georgian presidential election on January 4, judging by information from 30 polling stations, Central Elections Commission Chairman Zurab Chiaberashvili told a press conference on Monday. He said information from another 2,820 polling stations is coming into the commission`s database. Chiaberashvili said there were violations at a number of polling stations after the end of the balloting, and `the response of the Central Elections Commission will be tough.`
Republic Of Georgia Votes For PresidentThe Washington TimesTbilisi, January 4: Georgians lined up patiently at slow-moving voting stations Sunday to elect a successor to Eduard Shevardnadze, who stepped down six weeks ago in the face of massive protests over parliamentary election fraud. The overwhelming favorite among the six candidates on the ballot was Mikhail Saakashvili, the driving force behind the peaceful demonstrations that brought down Shevardnadze in what became known as the `rose revolution.` Immediately after the polls closed, Georgian independent television Rustavi-2 said its exit polls indicated that Saakashvili won 85.8 percent of the vote. No official results were immediately expected. Saakashvili has pledged to take a hard line against corruption and to work to restore the country`s economy, which largely collapsed in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union. Georgia was also ripped by two wars with separatist regions in the 1990s, ransom kidnappings became widespread and relations with its giant neighbor Russia deteriorated. In Tbilisi, the crumbling capital of the impoverished country, voters expressed optimism and pro-Saakashvili leanings. Some carried roses to the polling stations in commemoration of the flowers distributed to police by protesters as a sign of their peaceful intent.
Uzbek Opposition Movement`s Registration Attempt RejectedRadio Free EuropeTashkent, January 4: The Uzbek Justice Ministry has rejected the opposition Birlik (Unity) movement`s second attempt to register as a political party, Deutsche Welle reported on 4 January. The first registration attempt was rejected in October 2003 (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 29 October 2003). According to Birlik Secretary-General Vasila Inoyatova, the movement is eager to register so that it can participate as a party in parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of 2004. Without registration, Birlik members who want to run in the election will have to do so as independent candidates. Inoyatova said that some Birlik members have already started collecting the 50,000 signatures required for registration as an independent. On 5 January another opposition party, the Free Peasants Party, submitted its request for registration to the Justice Ministry, centrasia.ru reported the following day. BB
Saakashvili Claims Victory In Georgia`s Presidential PollXinhuaTbilisi, January 4: Mikhail Saakashvili, favorite in Georgia`s presidential poll claimed Sunday he had won the election,describing his apparently certain victory as a `triumph for the Georgian people,` reports reaching from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi said. Polling stations closed in Georgia`s presidential election on Sunday, and an exit poll gave Saakashivili 85.8 percent of the vote, local media reported. Saakashivili told reporters that thereare many problems to be resolved and pledged to help rebuild Georgia, a country torn apart by separatism and poverty. The vote was called when Shevardnadze resigned six weeks ago in the face of mass protests over his rule and a disputed parliamentary election in November 2003.
Georgia Invests Its Votes And Hopes In Revolutionary LeaderThe Christian Science MonitorSagarejo, January 4: With surging hopes in an almost festive atmosphere, Georgians flocked to the polls Sunday to choose a replacement for former President Eduard Shevardnadze, who was driven from office in a peaceful revolt six weeks ago. Nearly everyone emerging from the voting booths in this dirt-poor agricultural town 30 miles northeast of the capital Tbilisi said they cast their ballots for Mikhael Saakashvili, a former New York attorney turned fiery opposition leader. Early exit polls suggested the same trend was holding throughout much of the country, as Georgians embraced the promise of sweeping change after a decade of economic stagnation, corruption, and widespread poverty under Mr. Shevardnadze. `We hope a new president will bring us a normal life at last,` said Dali Rostomashvili, who held hands with her husband, Givi, as they explained why they`d voted for Mr. Saakashvili. `We grow all our own food in our garden, just to keep from going hungry,` she said. `We really need a better life.` Sagarejo, a quiet community of 50,000 in the shadow of the snow-peaked Caucasus mountains, has seen most local industry shut down over the past decade, and even its famous grape-growing business has plunged into decline for lack of markets and investment. About half the male population here is unemployed, local officials say, and those lucky enough to have jobs earn an average of $1 per day. On election day, hundreds of people thronged the town`s tree-lined streets in the bright winter sunshine. `I don`t know anyone who doesn`t support Saakashvili,` said Misha Davitelashvili, an unemployed construction worker, after casting his ballot. `We hope he will open the factories, fight corruption, and give us a new life. The people are with him, so he will succeed.` At one of Sagarejo`s polling stations, 210 out of about 700 registered voters had cast ballots by midday, every single one for Saakashvili, says Teona Sekhniashvili, a researcher who is part of a nationwide exit poll being conducted by the nongovernmental, internationally funded Institute for Polling and Marketing. `The [five] other candidates simply have no presence here.` Saakashvili, a former protégé of Shevardnadze, quit his post as justice minister two years ago and launched an opposition movement. In the wake of last November`s parliamentary elections, condemned as fraudulent by international observers, he led three weeks of escalating street protests in Tbilisi that culminated in Shevardnadze`s resignation.
Tajik Prosecutor Warns Independent Weekly To Stop Insulting PresidentRadio Free EuropeDushanbe, January 4: Tajik Prosecutor-General Bobozhon Bobokhonov has sent an official warning to the independent Dushanbe weekly `Ruz-i Nav` to stop publishing articles that groundlessly criticize the authorities, violate legislation on the media and, in particular, insult President Imomali Rakhmonov, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 4 January, quoting the Prosecutor-General`s Office. The warning contains a threat that if the weekly continues to publish such articles, it will be closed down. `Ruz-i Nav` Editor Razhab Mirzo told Asia Plus that the warning is one more example of government pressure on the publication. The weekly`s problems with the authorities began in November when the presidential publishing house refused to print one issue.
Kyrgyzstan`s Communists To UniteRadio Free EuropeBishkek, January 3: Kyrgyzstan`s two communist parties -- the Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan, which is headed by former first secretary of the Communist Party of Kirghizia Absamat Masaliev, and the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan, headed by Klara Azhibekova -- would like to unite, if a personal dispute between the two leaders can be resolved, RFE/RL`s Kyrgyz Service reported on 3 January and Deutsche Welle reported the following day. According to parliamentarian Orozbek Duisheev, who is a member of the presidium of Masaliev`s party, Masaliev has demanded that Azhibekova apologize for calling him an opportunist in an interview that was published in the daily `Vechernii Bishkek` on 15 September 1999. Azhibekova told Deutsche Welle that members of both parties have been calling for unification for a long time and said that she has nothing to apologize for.
SCO Shall Focus On Fighting Terrorism, Extremism - SafaevUzbek ReportTashkent, January 9: Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadik Safaev has said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should focus efforts in fighting terrorism, extremism, and separatism, as well as encouraging multilateral economic and cultural exchanges. The key task of the SCO was to safeguard regional stability and security, and all members should make joint efforts in curbing extremist religious thoughts so as to prevent terrorist groups from poisoning the younger generations, Safaev told Xinhua in a written interview prior to his visit to China scheduled for 13-16 January. Safaev said Uzbekistan, itself facing the threat of extremism, cherishes the decision by China and other SCO members to set up an anti-terrorism organ in its capital Tashkent. The top diplomat believed that the anti-terrorism setup would be effective in combating organized crimes. At a meeting in September 2003, SCO foreign ministers signed an agreement to fight terrorism, extremism and separatism together, putting more flesh to the anti-terrorism document signed at the 2001 SCO summit in Shanghai. The new agreement offers legal basis for bilateral cooperation between China and Uzbekistan in fighting terrorism, and stipulates that concerned departments of both sides should make more exchanges in intelligence, technology and material support, the minister said. Another important task of the SCO, Safaev said, was to improve bilateral trade and investment and revitalize the ancient `Silk Road.` The minister also highly praised the work China had done in setting up the Beijing Secretariat of the SCO, saying the new secretariat would significantly improve the organization´s efficiency in handling various tasks. Safaev said the Beijing Secretariat should work toward encouraging multilateral trade and cultural exchanges among the SCO member states, and like other permanent setups of the SCO, should strive for sustained development of the whole region by avoiding conflicts. To achieve this, Safaev said, all concerned sides must strictly abide by the principles of the SCO. He also urged all SCO members to follow UN charters and international laws, and to carry out dialogues with others countries and international institutions rather than make the organization a closed bloc.
Criminal Charges Filed Against Hizb-ut-Tahrir Activists In Northern KazakhstanRadio Free EuropeAstana, January 7: The Interior Ministry branch in northern Kazakhstan`s Pavlodar Oblast has opened a criminal case against four young people who were arrested while allegedly distributing literature of the extremist Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir party near the central mosque in the city of Pavlodar in November 2003 (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 24 November 2003), Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 7 January. It is the first case of its kind in Pavlodar, according to oblast law enforcement officials. The four activists are being charged with incitement to ethnic, racial, and religious hostility. Unlike other Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan has not banned Hizb ut-Tahrir, so membership of the organization is not in itself a crime.
Russian Guards Seize Over 250,000 Dollars On Tajik-Afghan BorderAsia-PlusDushanbe, January 9: Russian border guards [in Tajikistan] have foiled several illegal border crossing attempts [on the Tajik-Afghan border]. The press service of the Russian FSB [Federal Security Service] border directorate in Tajikistan told Asia-Plus that a border detail spotted two unidentified armed men who were approaching an electric frontier signalling complex at a section of the [southern] Moskva border detachment on the night of 7 January. `An exchange of fire began when the border guards tried to detain them but the unidentified men managed to go into hiding in an area planted with sugar cane,` the report said. `The Russian border guards had opened fire from the 82-mm mortars on a possible route of retreat.` The press service said that blood spots, a civilian jacket, a scarf, a cover for the Kalashnikov assault rifle`s barrel tube, as well as the footprints of 8-10 men, and two packages containing 280,000 dollars were discovered in the course of a search operation at dawn. The press service also said that on the afternoon of 8 January border guards spotted [an illegal] crossing attempt by 13 unidentified men on car tyres from Afghanistan into Tajikistan via the frontier River Panj on a section of the same border detachment. `It was planned to detain them when they got to the Tajik side of the river bank and as a result six violators were detained, the others managed to escape into the neighbouring territory,` the information said.
Kazakh Joint Chiefs-of-Staff To Focus On Troops Training In 2004InterfaxAstana, January 6: Improvement of the troops` operational and combat training is the main mission of the Kazakh Armed Forces` Joint Chiefs-of-Staff for 2004, Defense Minister Mukhtar Altynbayev said on Wednesday. `The main mission for 2004 of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff that replaced the General Staff is to improve the troops` operational and combat training and to prepare commanders for efficient arrangement and conduction of anti-terrorist operations,` Altynbayev told Interfax- Military News Agency. The minister stressed that the creation of the Joint Chiefs-of- Staff on an order from President Nursultan Nazarbayev has made it possible to divide more precisely the functions handled by the Defense Ministry and the bodies that directly control troops. The Joint Chiefs-of-Staff had to be set up because the Armed Forces had switched over to the three-arm pattern, Altynbayev stressed. The Kazakh Armed Forces now consist of the Land Forces, Air Defense Forces, and Navy Command. `The Joint Chiefs-of-Staff bring together chiefs-of-staff of the arms of service and the Airmobile Forces, which is an independent military branch, as well as chiefs-of-staff of Regional Commands Astana, West, East and South (former military districts),` he said.
Mangystau Oblast To Be Main Kazakh Naval BaseRadio Free EuropeAstana, January 5: Astana has decided that Kazakhstan`s main naval base on the Caspian Sea will be located in Mangystau Oblast, at Aqtau, the oblast administrative center; Bautino; and two other bays, gazeta.kz reported on 5 January, quoting deputy commander of the Western Military District Marat Toilekbaev, who was discussing plans for the naval base with oblast and port officials and local businesspeople. The base will include not only warships but also shore batteries and marine units. A naval presence was established at Aqtau in 1996, but the ships were given to the border service in 1999. In line with its intention to have a fully functioning navy within 10 years, Kazakhstan is obtaining two warships from Russia in summer 2004 and intends to seek Turkish help in acquiring more.
IGD Buying Into Kazakh Gold MineThe StarAstana, January 9: MALAYSIA-BASED IGD Practice (Labuan) Ltd is buying into a gold mine in Kazakhstan in a bid to promote the use of gold dinar globally. The company signed an agreement yesterday for a 34 per cent stake in Kazakhstan Gold Mining Corp (KGMC) for US$17mil, to be paid for in cash and via a share swap. IGD group managing director Dr Shamsudeen Yunus said the company would also inject US$35mil - raised through an Islamic hybrid instrument - into the mining operations. KGMC owns Artel Trud Closed Joint Stock - which operates the Bolshevik mine in Kazakhstan - and Altyn Aymak Closed Joint Stock Mining Metallurgical Corp - the supplier of the breakthrough biotechnology used to extract the gold. Artel Trud and Altyn Aymak have 33 per cent stake each in KGMC. IGD`s aim was to promote the gold dinar in international trade, not just among business communities but also among individuals, especially in the payment of zakat and dowry, Shamsudeen told reporters after the agreement signing between IGD, Artel Trud and Altyn Aymak in Kuala Lumpur.
Turkmenistan, Ukraine To Sign 25-year Gas Agreement In FebruaryInterfaxAshgabat, January 9: Turkmenistan and Ukraine plan to sign a 25-year agreement for gas supplies in 2007-2032 during an official visit to Turkmenistan by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in the first half of February, a source in the Turkmenistani presidential press service told Interfax. These plans were confirmed during a meeting on Thursday between Turkmenistani President Saparmurad Niyazov and Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Vadim Chuprun. The press service quoted the Ukrainian diplomat as saying that the Ukrainian government is ready `to develop long-term partnership with Turkmenistan further, based on principles of equality and mutual gain.` Turkmenistan is a major supplier of gas to Ukraine and accounted for 45 per cent of the Ukrainian gas market in 2003.
Uzbekistan Sells Shares In 4 BanksInterfaxTashkent, January 9: Uzbekistan has sold government shares in four banks, said a Central Bank of Uzbekistan press release. The government owned 1.7 per cent of Tadbirkorbank, 0.3 per cent of Savdogarbank, 0.03 per cent of Ipak Yuli and 0.7 per cent of Aviabank. Tadbirkorbank, one of Uzbekistan`s mid-sized banks, saw assets drop 10 per cent in January-September 2003 to 29.6 billion sum and capital fell 15 per cent to 4.6 billion sum. Savdogarbank assets fell 22.2 per cent in the same period to 34.6 billion sum and capital went down 31.5 per cent to 4.03 billion sum. Ipak Yuli assets increased 61.2 per cent to 21.3 billion sum and capital grew 42.3 per cent to 3.4 billion sum. Aviabank assets slid 2.8 per cent to 6.77 billion sum, while capital rose 23 per cent to 3.3 billion sum.
Kazakhstan Hopes For Successful Joint Project With Lukoil In CaspianInterfaxAstana, January 9: Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov, Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov and management from KazMunaiGaz discussed cooperation to develop the Caspian`s hydrocarbon resources, ahead of a visit to Kazakhstan by Russian President Vladimir Putin. A statement on this was issued by the Kazakh government`s press service. During the meeting the sides discussed `a number of issues connected with preparations for the signing of an agreement between KazMunaiGaz and Lukoil for the joint development of the Tyub-Karagan and Atashskaya fields, during the official visit by Vladimir Putin,` the press releases said. Akhmetov said the agreement is `one of the first significant Kazakh-Russian oil projects in the Caspian, from which both countries expect to receive an effective result.` The Kazakh prime minister also said that both sides `have their interests` in implementing this project, and called on the Lukoil representative `to begin its implementation quickly.` In turn, Alekperov thanked the Kazakh government for its support for the project and highly evaluated the professionalism of Kazakh oil companies.`
Kazakhstan Expects To Invest Up To $1 Billion In RussiaRadio Free EuropeAstana, January 8: On the eve of Russian President Vladimir Putin`s 9-10 January visit to Kazakhstan, Kazakh Foreign Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev told journalists in Astana that Kazakhstan expects to invest as much as $1 billion in the Russian economy this year, RIA-Novosti reported on 8 January. Toqaev added that Kazakh banks have already begun investing in Russia. He noted that Russians are eager to invest in Kazakhstan, which he said is beneficial both economically and politically, given international predictions of Russia`s probable future economic growth. The same day, LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov told RIA-Novosti in Moscow that his company intends to invest up to $3 billion to develop oilfields on the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea shelf. LUKoil plans to launch a joint venture with Kazakh state oil firm KazMunayGaz in 2004.
ADB Approves Loan To Uzbekistan For Reconstruction Of Irrigation SystemRadio Free EuropeTashkent, January 7: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of $73.2 million to Uzbekistan for the reconstruction of an irrigation system serving five raions in Surkhandarya Oblast, RIA-Novosti reported on 7 January, citing the ADB office in Tashkent. The system draws water from the Amu Darya River to irrigate about 100,000 hectares of arable land. Reconstruction is expected to increase the output of cotton and wheat in one of Uzbekistan`s poorer regions.
Kyrgyzstan Steps Up Agricultural Ties With RussiaInterfaxBishkek, January 7: Kyrgyzstan is increasing its cooperation with Russia in matters agricultural, Kyrgyz Agriculture, Water and Processing Industries Minister Alexander Kostyuk told Interfax. The main areas for working in with Russia are the processing of agricultural products, supplying agricultural equipment and agricultural product exports to Russia`s Siberian and Urals regions, Kostyuk said. The October, 2003, Kyrgyz-Russian investment forum stepped up bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture. In 2004, we expect the arrival on the Kyrgyz market of such Russian companies as engage in equipment deliveries such as Avtoexport and Rostselmash, Kostyuk said. The Kyrgyz Agriculture Ministry is discussing the licensing of agricultural technology with Russia. The volume of direct investments made in Kyrgyz agriculture over the past two years came to $45 million, 30 per cent of which was Russian investment.
Tashkent Hosts International Energy Saving ConferenceUzbek ReportTashkent, January 6: An international conference on saving energy resources was held in Tashkent. Fuel and energy complex is the basis of economy, Minister of Higher and Specialised Secondary Education of Uzbekistan, Saidahror Gulyamov, said opening the forum. Accroding to UzA, up to 70 million tonnes of conditional fuel are annually consumed in Uzbekistan. Coal prevails among all kinds of energy carriers in Uzbekistan, but its share in the total production of electric energy makes up some 4 per cent. Development of coal-mining industry is one of perspective directions. Corresponding governmental resolution envisions increase of coal production to 10 million tonnes by 2010, which will allow to augment its share in the total energy balance of the country to 12-15 per cent.
Syrdarya Could Burst Its Banks, Impacting Up To One Million PeopleIRIN NewsAnkara, January 6: If the Chardara water reservoir in the extreme south of Kazakhstan were to overflow, up to 1 million people living downstream along the Syrdarya river, that the reservoir flows into, could be flooded out, government officials warned on Tuesday. The Syrdarya is one of two important rivers in Central Asia, along with the Amudarya. `The situation is dangerous, particularly as we have got a very big water inflow and we cannot make huge discharges because the river downstream can`t handle more water,` Amirkhan Kenchimov, the deputy head of the water resources agency at the Kazakh agriculture ministry, told IRIN from the capital, Astana on Tuesday. Earlier, when there were no settlements downstream the ancient river would burst its banks reaching 15-29 km in width at natural high waters, the government official added. `However, there are now settlements everywhere [on the banks] and we cannot allow that,` he maintained. He went on to say that there were now 4.5 billion cubic metres of water in the Chardara reservoir, while its capacity was 5.2 billion cubic metres, adding that only some 700 million cubic metres of its projected capacity left, was dangerously little. However, Kairzhan Turezhanov, a press secretary at the Kazakh emergency situations agency, told IRIN there was little cause for concern. `The situation has normalised and they have discharged water from the [Chardara] reservoir into the Arnasay depression [a reservoir in neighbouring Uzbekistan],` he told IRIN from Astana, adding that in an effort to prevent a disaster, colleagues from neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan came on Monday and decided to discharge the water. According to some reports, the inflow of water into the Chardara reservoir had started to exceed normal levels last September, due to heavy rains in the Central Asian region. Water flows in to the Syrdarya have also increased because upstream Kyrgyzstan had discharged huge amounts of water through its hydroelectric power stations on the Naryn river, a tributary of the Syrdarya, in winter over recent years. This has been due to growing seasonal energy needs for heating, especially when Uzbekistan cut natural gas supplies to its mountainous neighbour because Bishkek`s wasn`t paying the bills. Turezhanov of the emergency agency added that as of 25 December, the water inflow in to the Chardara reservoir was 1,300 cubic metres per second, while the discharge was only 550 cubic metres per second. `Can you imagine the volume?` he asked, adding that areas of Kzyl-Orda province on the banks of Syrdarya river were vulnerable to the flooding as a result. `If the dam bursts there won`t any settlement left downstream,` Kenchomov warned. But Turezhanov said that because the water discharge had been initiated on Monday, following tripartite talks in Shymkent, the water level would normalise in 5-6 days. `Therefore, there is no threat of the dam to burst,` he said. `There we made a decision to reduce the inflow into the Syrdarya river. This means Kyrgyzstan has to reduce the production of hydro-electricity and for that we are supplying coal and fuel oil to Bishkek`s thermal power station, while the Uzbeks are expected to supply much more natural gas,` Kenchimov explained.
Court Rules Against PetroKazThe Globe And MailAstana, January 6: The squabble between PetroKazakhstan Inc. and an anti-monopoly agency in Kazakhstan took a turn for the worse Tuesday when a court in the former Soviet republic ruled against the Canadian company, saying a claim filed against it was legal and justified. According to a wire service report, the court upheld a claim filed by the Anti-Monopoly Agency in October that accused the Calgary-based oil and gas producer with overcharging farmers for diesel supplies. At the time, Kazakhstan`s competition agency ordered PetroKaz to pay a fine of 974 million tenge or $6.3-million (U.S.) fine for alleged monopoly pricing. The company, who says the allegations are unfounded, refused to pay the fine and questioned its legality in court. PetroKaz executives have blamed internal politics in the former Soviet republic for the imposition of the penalty. On Tuesday, wire service reports said Kazakhstan`s court ruled the fine was legal, but was calculated incorrectly and cut it by 85 per cent. The Kazakh antimonopoly watchdog claims that PetroKaz abused its monopoly status and earned extra profits throughout 2003, but the court ruled that these earnings only accrued from Aug. 6 until the end of the year, the wire service said. The agency has the right to appeal.
GDP In Turkmenistan Up 23.1 per cent 2003InterfaxAshgabat, January 6: GDP in Turkmenistan increased 23.1 per cent year-on-year in 2003, Turkmenistani President Saparmurad Niyazov said at a government meeting. `We increased gross domestic product to 82 trillion manat in 2003,` the president said. Niyazov said that annual economic growth in Turkmenistan has not been lower than 20 per cent since 2000. Growth in industry in 2003 amounted to 12.2 per cent, in agriculture - 11.8 per cent, construction - 11.7 per cent, transport and communications - 11.6 per cent, trade - 13.5 per cent and services - 13.1 per cent. The president also said that while capital investment in the economy amounted to 12.5 trillion manat in 2003, this investment amounted to 16 trillion manat in 2003. GDP in Turkmenistan increased 21.2 per cent to 63.8 trillion manat in 2002.
Turkmenistan President Approves 2004 BudgetInterfaxAshgabat, January 6: President of Turkmenistan Saparmurad Niyazov has approved 2004 budget law, envisaging a balanced budget. The law, which was published by local media, puts revenue and spending at 63.44 trillion manat, including first level budget revenue and spending of 13.79 trillion manat. The two-level budget includes tax revenue and public sector spending in the first and the revenue and spending of industrial complexes and state fund sectors in the second. Spending will be financed partly through interest free loans from the central bank of up to 5 per cent of first level budget spending.
Agreement Signed On US Finance Of Tajik-Afghan BridgeRadio Free EuropeDushanbe, January 5: Tajik Transport Minister Abduzhalol Salimov and U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan Richard Hoagland have signed an agreement on U.S. financing of construction of a bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan across the Pyandzh River, the official Tajik news agency Khovar reported on 5 January. The United States agreed in principle last year to finance construction of the Pyandzh bridge, and U.S. construction specialists have already inspected the site.
Turkmen State Budget For 2004 PublishedRadio Free EuropeAshgabat, January 5: Turkmen state media on 5 January published some details of the state budget for 2004, Interfax and RIA-Novosti reported the same day. According to the budget law, which was adopted in November and later approved by the president, the state budget is perfectly balanced between income and expenditures, at 64.3 trillion manats (about $12.2 billion at the official exchange rate). In addition to income from taxes and state-owned industries, the budget projects a substantial increase in non-state investments, to 26 percent-27 percent of all investment. The published budget designates 1.4 trillion manats (about $2.65 million) to finance the free supply of gas, water, electricity, and salt to the population, one of the most important elements of President Saparmurat Niyazov`s social program.
Work On US-built Tajik-Afghan Bridge To Start In SpringIRIN NewsDushanbe, January 5: US plans to erect a multi-million dollar bridge spanning the Pyanj river between southern Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan, are proceeding, with positive implications for both countries, IRIN learnt on Monday. `This bridge will complement the Friendship bridge at Termez in Uzbekistan, providing an additional means of getting needed humanitarian assistance to Afghans,` Jennifer Washeleski, public affairs officer for the US Embassy in the Tajik capital Dushanbe, told IRIN. She added that as a landlocked country, Tajikistan was dependent on its neighbours to transit goods and facilitate trade, making the bridge a viable contributor to that country`s fledgling economy. `Having an alternative route, offers additional trade opportunities and will benefit Tajikistan, as well as other countries in the region,` the US official explained. Her comments came less than a week after an agreement on the bridge`s construction between US Ambassador to Tajikistan, Richard Hoagland and that country`s transport minister, Abduljalil Salimov, was signed in Dushanbe. Work on the US-financed bridge linking the Afghan and Tajik banks of the river is expected to start soon, with an expected completion date within 18 months. According to Washeleski, the two-lane bridge, measuring some 670 metres in length, will be built at the Tajik border crossing of Nizhni-Pyanj at an estimated cost of US $30 million.
The First Meeting Of NCGG This Year Dedicated To Work Out Reforming Strategy Of ManagementKabar AgencyBishkek, January 5: The preparation of reforming strategy of management one of the conditions to write off a part of external debt of Kyrgyzstan. According to Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Nikolai Tanaev during the meeting of the National Council on Good Governance (NCGG), the strategy is one of the components of the memorandum between IMF and Kyrgyzstan. In this connection, it is necessary to work out it till March 2004. In the course of the meeting, an action plan is asserted. It includes monitoring of corrupted violations. Priorities of improving normative and legal base on fighting with corruption are will be determined as a result. It is expected to introduce trustee councils in educational institutions on the whole republic and introduce obligatory order agreement with society new laws or changes into legislation through placing at the web-site of the government and mass media.
Three Central Asian States Cooperate Against Syr Darya FloodingRadio Free EuropeTashkent, January 4: High-level delegations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan met in Shymkent in South Kazakhstan Oblast on 4 January to discuss measures to prevent flooding from a major reservoir on the Syr Darya River, khabar.kz and Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the following day. The Chardara Reservoir, which forms part of the Kazakh-Uzbek border, is in imminent danger of overflowing and destroying its dam because Kyrgyzstan has released too much water from its reservoirs in order to generate hydroelectric power. Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Pavlov, who headed the Kazakh delegation to the talks, warned that southern Kazakhstan, particularly Kyzyl-Orda Oblast, could be facing an environmental disaster if this happens. The discussion ended with the signing of a protocol under which Kazakhstan will supply coal and fuel oil to Kyrgyzstan in January and Kyrgyzstan will reduce its hydroelectric output and increase power generation in its thermal plants, while Uzbekistan will raise the flow of water from the Chardara Reservoir into its nearby Arnasai Reservoir. The three delegations also agreed to set up a working group to regulate the flow of the Syr Darya
Uzbekistan Signs Gas Contracts With Tajikistan And KyrgyzstanRadio Free EuropeTashkent, January 3: Tajik and Kyrgyz natural-gas firms have succeeded in signing contracts with Uzbekistan`s gas supplier Uztransgaz for deliveries of gas in 2004. The Tajik state gas firm Tojikgaz was able to increase the amount it will receive by 200 million cubic meters more than in 2003, but the Tajik side has to pay for the entire amount in advance, according to gazeta.kz on 3 January. Despite lengthy negotiations, Kyrgyz gas importer Kyrgyzgaz was unable to persuade the Uzbek side to accept partial payment in barter goods as in previous years, and in 2004 Kyrgyzstan will have to pay exclusively in U.S. dollars, RFE/RL`s Kyrgyz Service and Deutsche Welle reported on 3 and 4 January respectively.
New US Envoy To Uzbekistan Due To Arrive In TashkentUzbek ReportTashkent, January 9: New Ambassador of the United States of America to Uzbekistan Jon Robert Purnell will arrive to Tashkent on 10 January 2004. Jon Robert Purnell was nominated to this post on 6 October by George Bush and confirmed by the US Senate on 9 December 2003. Earlier, Purnell served as minister counsellor for political affairs at the US embassy in Moscow. He also served as senior inspector with the office of the inspector general for the State Department. Before that, Purnell was deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He earned his bachelor`s degree from Brown University and his master`s degree from Harvard University. Former US Ambassador to Uzbekistan John Herbst of Virginia was appointed as ambassador to Ukraine in the middle of 2003. He led the US diplomatic mission in Uzbekistan for two years, from 28 October 2000. Before the arrival of the new ambassador, the US diplomatic mission in Tashkent was headed by US Charge d`Affaires to Uzbekistan David Appleton. David Appleton has been the deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Tashkent since July 2001.
Armenia/Azerbaijan: Ankara And Baku Want Trilateral Talks With Armenia On Nagorno-KarabakhRadio Free EuropeBaku, January 9: Turkey and Azerbaijan expressed a desire today to hold trilateral talks with Armenia on the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said during a visit to Azerbaijan today that his country and Azerbaijan wish a peaceful solution to the conflict. `Regretfully, 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s territory has been occupied by Armenia. The Nagorno-Karabakh situation is unresolved. We want all these problems to be resolved in the framework of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity.`
Gul Signals New, Active Role In Solving Nagorno-Karabakh ConflictTurkish Daily NewsBaku, January 9: Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul signaled Friday that Turkey would play a more active role in finding a peaceful solution to Azerbaijan`s dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, one of the smoldering problems of the Caucasus region. Turkey had refrained from pushing for a solution during the reign of Azerbaijan`s late president, Haidar Aliyev, who died last month. Aliyev`s son Ilham was elected president in October, and Turkey now sees an opportunity to exert its influence. Gul arrived in Baku on Friday on the first official Turkish visit to the oil-rich nation since the younger Aliyev took office. Turkey has long backed Azerbaijan in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan. Turkey now wants the dispute to be settled as soon as possible in line with U.S. policy aimed at promoting stability in the region. `We will discuss what we can do to remove obstacles, primarily the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, impeding stability in the southern Caucasus,` Gul told reporters before his departure from Ankara. Gul was scheduled to meet with Aliyev, Parliament Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, Deputy Premier Abid Sharifov and Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev. He will also meet with Azerbaijani and Turkish businessmen before traveling to Iran on Saturday. Gul was expected to stress that Turkey wants a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Kazakh Foreign Ministry Denies Chinese Moving To KazakhstanRadio Free EuropeAstana, January 9: Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi told a press conference in Astana on 8 January that there is no substance to media reports that an unidentified Kazakh official has agreed to lease vacant land in Kazakhstan`s Alakol Raion to 3,000 Chinese farmers, who would use it to grow soybeans and wheat and to raise livestock, gazeta.kz reported. The story apparently originated in a media outlet in western China`s Xinjiang Province and appeared in the `China Daily` in December. No indication was given of when the agreement was supposed to have been concluded. Many Kazakhs have long feared that China is casting covetous eyes on their sparsely populated country.
Kazakhstan - Russia: Friendship TerritoryKazakhstanskaya PravdaAstana, January 9: State visit of Vladimir Putin, Russian President ushered in the year of Russia in Kazakhstan. Festive ceremony is to be held 9 January in Astana Congress Hall. A number of weighty instruments for reciprocal cooperation are to be signed by the Heads of States. Efficiency of JV `KazRosGaz` - export merchant of Kazakhstan and Russian gas to European markets as well as of projects on Caspian joint development, including Kashagan are graphic evidence of links` tightening. In 2003 boundary regions enjoyed particular benefits in terms of economic ties expansion, since over 60 per cent of Kazakhstan - Russian commodity turnover fell to their share. The year of Kazakhstan in Russia has considerably enhanced joint operations among certain enterprises, institutions and individuals. It`s indicative that number of joint ventures functioning both in Kazakhstan and Russia exceeds 2 000. Both states are pursuing harmonized policy on security systems development. Participation in SCO and Collective Security Organization sessions and friendly interstate relations are evidence of it. The two states are expected to reach understanding with regard to Kazakhstan multiversion policy of oil transportation to world markets. Another field of potential joint efforts is space exploration. Baikonur cosmodrome expands.
Uzbek FM Pledges Closer Ties With ChinaPeople`s DailyTashkent, January 9: Uzbek Foreign Minister Sodik Safaev has said his country will promote its relations with China in economic cooperation. In a recent written interview with Xinhua, Safaev, who will visit China on Jan. 13-16, said the Uzbekistan-China ties were established on the basis of mutual respect, equality, friendlinessand a win-win situation for each other. He said he was satisfied with the close and stable ties betweenUzbekistan and China. China, a country with huge political and economic potentials, is one of Uzbekistan`s reliable partners in relation to Central Asia`s economic development and regional security, said Safaev. The high-level political dialogue between Uzbekistan and China is of great significance for the development of bilateral relations, he said.
Kyrgyz Prime Minister To Hold Talks In MoscowInterfaxBishkek, January 9: Kyrgyz Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev will discuss trade and economic cooperation during a working visit to Russia on January 21. `Kyrgyzstan has proposed discussing over 30 issues at the Moscow negotiations. The issues were defined at the first investment summit between Kyrgyzstan and Russia in October 2003,` counselor at the Russian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan Valery Shageyev told Interfax on Thursday. `Kyrgyzstan is offering to cooperate in hydropower plants, agriculture, science, production, transport and aviation,` he said. `The sides are considering the issues in detail,` Shageyev said. Tanayev will meet with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and economic ministers in Moscow, sources in the Kyrgyz government said.
Putin Starts Official Visit To KazakhstanKabar AgencyMoscow, January 9: Russian President Vladimir Putin will start a two-day official visit to Kazakhstan today after a corresponding invitation from Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of Kazakhstan. The presidents will take part in the opening ceremony of the year of Russia in Kazakhstan. According to the Kazakhstani presidential press service, the agenda of this visit will include both closed negotiations and enlarged meetings that are expected to result in signing several bilateral agreements, in particular, on prolonging the lease of the Baikonur launching pad.
Saakashvili Declares Cultural Proximity With RussiaInterfaxMoscow, January 9: Georgian president elect Mikhail Saakashvili has said that his country will have problems with Russia, only if Georgian national interests are trampled on. `Of course, we will have problems with Russia but only in one case. If we feel that our national interests are trampled on,` he said in an interview with Izvestia published on Friday. Commenting on Russia`s reaction to his election Saakashvili said: `I think that Russia also understands that nothing terrible happened. The approach in the first days was oversimplified - if Saakashvili spent three years in America, he is pro-American.` `I have very warm feelings for America but I don`t think I am loaded with any anti-Russian sentiments. On the contrary, we have many more links with Russia than with any other country as far as human contacts, cultural relations and historical origin are concerned,` Saakashvili said. He announced plans of introducing dual citizenship for Georgians living abroad.
Kazakh Coordinator For UN`s CA Economies Programme AppointedUzbek ReportTashkent, January 8: Kazakhstan national coordinator of the United Nations Organisation?s special programme for the economies of Central Asia has been appointed. Kazakh Prime Minister has appointed Vice-Premier Sauat Mynbaev to this post. UN?s special programme for the economies of Central Asia (SPECA) was developed on the initiative of the President of Kazakhstan. The declaration on initialising SPECA was signed on 26 March 1998 during the session of the Intergovernmental Council of Central Asian Economic Community by the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of international organisations. According to this document, each of member states coordinates a certain sphere of cooperation. Kazakhstan is to deal with development of transport infrastructure and simplifying procedures of crossing of goods, services and people through state borders. Turkmenistan officially joined SPECA in September 1998.
Azerbaijani President To Pay Official Visit To Moscow In Early FebruaryInterfaxBaku, January 8: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will pay his first official visit to Russia in early February. `The visit is on the agenda. It is likely to take place in the first ten days of February,` Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev said on Thursday. He said a number of bilateral cooperation documents are being drafted and Aliyev would discuss them in Moscow. Before visiting Moscow, Aliyev will visit France in late January, he said.
President Talks To Turkish CounterpartKazakhstanskaya PravdaAstana, January 8: N.Nazarbayev, KZ President, had phone talks with Ahmet Necdet Sezer, President of Turkey. They exchanged New Year greetings. The parties marked dynamic Kazakhstan - Turkish relations development noticeably promoted after official visit of N.Nazarbayev to Turkey in May 2003, presidential administration`s press service informs. They positively estimated economic, political and cultural cooperation. N.Nazarbayev had phone talks with Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan President. They focused on bilateral cooperation development prospects and arranged their meeting scheduled for early April in Ashkhabad.
Putin Woos Kazakhstan In Great Oil GameNewscutsMoscow, January 8: Russia will make a new move in the great game for Caspian oil with the United States when the President, Vladimir Putin, visits Kazakhstan on Jan. 9 to 10. Mr. Putin will try to preserve Russia`s control over Kazakhstan`s oil flows by persuading its President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, against using the U.S.-pushed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. The BTC pipeline from Azerbaijan`s Caspian oilfields through Georgia to Turkey`s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan is the cornerstone of Washington`s strategy in the region aimed at bringing under control oil exports from the Caspian Sea and Central Asia, which have so far been routed through Russian territory. Mr. Putin`s visit comes less than a week after Georgia elected the pro-U.S. President, Mikhail Saakashvili, in what is seen as a big boost to the BTC project. However, it is Kazakhstan that holds the key to the success or failure of the $3.6 billion pipeline, which is due to start pumping oil in 2005. It is largely assumed that the project will not be viable unless Kazakhstan adds its oil from the giant Kashagan field off the northern Caspian coast as Azerbaijan`s oil is not enough to fill the BTC`s rated capacity of 1 million b/d (50 million tonnes per annum). Kremlin sources said today that the leaders of Russia and Kazakhstan will discuss among other things, `possibilities for stepping up cooperation in the energy sector, notably in the area of oil and gas transportation and joint development of hydrocarbon resources in northern Caspian.` Mr. Putin will try to win Kazakhstan`s long-term commitment to transport its oil via Russian territory. Kazakh oil from the Tengiz oilfield is already pumped through a 1,500-km pipeline built by the Russia-dominated Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) in 2001, to the Russian port of Novorossiisk on the Black Sea. The CPC`s capacity is at present 600,000 b/d, and will eventually be expanded to 1.34 million b/d by 2015. Kazakhstan is also studying the feasibility of exporting oil from the Kashagan oilfield through the CPC.
Russia, Kazakhstan Delimit 98 per cent Of Interstate BorderInterfaxAstana, January 8: Kazakhstan and Russia have delimited 98 per cent of their interstate border, about 7,350 kilometers, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev told Interfax on Thursday. `We are finalizing negotiations on disputable border sections,` Tokayev said. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin will instruct the governments to finalize the border delimitation in 2004 and to present a corresponding treaty to the presidents for signing. The border between Kazakhstan and Russia is the longest land frontier in the world.
SCO Foreign Ministers To Meet In Beijing On 15 JanuaryUzbek ReportTashkent, January 7: Beijing will host a meeting of foreign ministries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on 15 January 2004. According to RIA Novosti, foreign ministers of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will discuss cooperation among SCO member countries, as well as international and regional issues. The diplomats will also participate in the opening of SCO Secretariat.
Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan To Intensify Energy CooperationInterfaxAshgabat, January 7: Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev want to see more intensive economic cooperation, the Turkmen presidential press service told Interfax on Thursday. During a telephone conversation on Wednesday, the presidents agreed to set up working groups to draft regulations on economic cooperation, primarily in fuel and energy. The regulations will specify terms for the construction of oil and gas pipelines. The presidents said they were satisfied with their nations` economic cooperation last year. Niyazov also invited Nazarbayev to visit Turkmenistan, which may occur in April 2004, the press service said.
Bush Sets Out U.S. Hopes For New Georgia LeaderReutersTbilisi, January 7: Georgia`s new leader won a pat on the back from U.S. President George Bush Wednesday for his election victory, coupled with a reminder that Washington expected change in the strategically placed Caucasus state. Bush telephoned President-elect Mikhail Saakashvili and congratulated him on his landslide victory in Sunday`s election, Georgy Arvaladze, a spokesman for the new leadership, said. `He (Bush) told him there were lots of hopes and expectations about the new Georgia,` said Arvaladze, who added that Bush had invited the U.S.-trained lawyer to visit the United States as soon as possible `to shake hands.` Saakashvili took the call from Bush on Orthodox Christmas Day, when he also met a somber-looking Eduard Shevardnadze in an apparent bid to bury the past and move on after the bloodless popular uprising that toppled the veteran leader in November. Arvaladze said Bush had also said he wanted regular contact from now on with the new Georgian leadership on international and security issues. Bush`s words picked up Saakashvili`s pledges to fight the deep corruption in his volatile ex-Soviet country of 4.5 million that has damaged its international reputation and deterred foreign investment. Saakashvili has said he hopes to reap the benefits of a U.S.-backed oil pipeline to transport Caspian crude across Georgia to the Mediterranean and will promote his nation as a transit country between the Middle East and Europe.
Kazakh Parliament Ratifies Agreement On Establishment Of CACUzbek ReportTashkent, January 7: On 7 January deputies of Majilis (Kazakh Parliament) approved ratification of agreement between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on establishment of the Central Asian Cooperation (CAC) organisation. In line with the agreement, signed during the summit of heads of member states of Central Asian Economic Community (CAEC) on 28 February 2002, four Central Asian countries had reorganised CAEC into CAC, KZ-today reported. The resolution of the Majilis committee on international affairs, defence and security states the establishment of CAC was caused by the necessity of `further promotion and diversification of political dialogue, improvement of forms and mechanisms of regional economic integration, boosting multidimensional economic collaboration in political, economic, scientific and technical, cultural and humanitarian relations`.
Putin, Nazarbayev Want Better Bilateral RelationsInterfaxMoscow, January 7: Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay an official visit to Kazakhstan on January 9-10. Russian-Kazakh relations are dynamic and sustainable, a high- ranking Kremlin source told Interfax. The Year of Kazakhstan in Russia held in 2003 contributed to the strengthening of bilateral relations, he said. The Year of Russia in Kazakhstan will be officially launched during Putin`s visit. `There is no doubt that it will promote the further strengthening of allied relations, fraternal friendship and neighborliness between people of the two countries,` the source said. The summit, which is part of the continuous and active political dialog, will focus on deeper bilateral cooperation. The presidents will consider the enlargement of trade and economic cooperation, in particular between regions and border areas.
FMs Of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan To Attend SCO FM MeetingXinhuaBeijing, January 6: At the invitation of Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will attend the ad hoc Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) Foreign Ministers` Meeting in Beijing on January 15, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan announced here Tuesday at the regular press conference. The inaugural ceremony of the SCO Secretariat will be held on the same day, and foreign ministers of its six members and representatives of some international organizations will be invited to attend, Kong said.
Putin To Pay Official Visit To KazakhstanKabar AgencyMoscow, January 6: Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay an official visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan on an invitation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev on January 9-10, the Russian presidential press service told RBC. According to a source in Nazarbayev`s administration, the two presidents will meet first, and then they will hold Russian-Kazakh talks with other officials present. While in Kazakhstan, Putin is expected to draw the results of the Year of Kazakhstan in Russia. In the afternoon on January 9, a ceremony of opening a Year of Russia in Kazakhstan will take place in the Astana congress hall. According to earlier reports of Kazakh ambassador to Russia Krymbek Kusherbayev, Putin`s upcoming visit shall be regarded as part of constant activities of the two leaders for the sake of further integration of Russia and Kazakhstan.
Moscow Wants Right To Study In Russian For Russian-speaking People In CIS, BalticsKabar AgencyMoscow, Janury 5: Russia insists that Russian-speaking people in the CIS and the Baltic states should have the right to study in Russian. `These countries [the CIS and the Baltics] should understand that such a large ethnic minority of Russians should have an official right to instruction in their mother tongue, to talk to the authorities, to request information. It fully meets the international standards and Russia is not demanding anything special for its fellow countrymen,` Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Eleonora Mitrofanova, who is responsible for issues relating to the protection of the rights of Russians abroad, said in an interview with Interfax.
Kyrgyzstan Upbeat About Relations With Russia, U.S., ChinaInterfaxMoscow, January 5: Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Askar Aitmatov is satisfied with Kyrgyzstan`s relations with Russia, the United States and China in 2003. `Russia, the U.S. and China are defining the present-day world order. We are pleased to note that our relations with these countries were intensive last year,` Aitmatov told Interfax. `Kyrgyzstan and Russia exchanged summit visits. We signed a protocol on workforce migration which offers favorable terms for Kyrgyz citizens in Russia, and this marked a breakthrough in our joint work to tackle migration problems. Two large-scale investment forums were held to promote trade and economic cooperation,` he said. `Concerning relations with the U.S., we established direct contacts and signed memorandums of understanding with the states of Montana and Utah, and we continued cooperating with the U.S. in the areas of combating international terrorism, democratization and the freedom of the press. The U.S. undoubtedly remains the key nation on the way to integration with the world community,` said Aitmatov. `We signed nine agreements with China. More than 20 official Kyrgyz delegations visited China and 15 Chinese delegations were received in Kyrgyzstan. In the first ten months, trade with China grew by 48 per cent, year-on-year,` the Kyrgyz foreign minister said.
Tajikistan Comes For Intensifying Eurasian IntegrationInterfaxDushanbe, January 5: Tajikistan comes for intensifying the development of the Eurasian Economic Cooperation Organization (EurAsEc) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. `This integration is proceeding slowly and we would like to see concrete results,` Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov told the press. He said cooperation with the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, primarily the Central Asian republics, rank among Tajikistan`s priorities. EurAsEc comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization the same countries plus Armenia. Concerning Tajik-Russian relations, Nazarov said, `there are no unsettled problems in relations between the two countries.` `We maintain good relations without any contradictions, and I hope we shall remain strategic partners,` the Tajik foreign minister said. For details, see the Diplomatic Panorama of January 5.
Russian Official Calls For Stronger Controls At Kazakh Border CrossingsRadio Free EuropeAstana, January 4: Russian Deputy Interior Minister Colonel General Aleksandr Chekalin has called for tougher controls at crossing points along the Kazakh-Russian border, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported on 4 January. He said the Eurasian Economic Community`s agreement on visa-free travel within the community by citizens of member states (Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Belarus) has caused an increase in illegal migration from Central Asia via Kazakhstan into the Russian Federation. Chekalin noted that Kazakhstan also has agreements with Turkey, Mongolia, Vietnam, China, and North Korea that would enable citizens of those countries to use Kazakhstan as a transit route to Russia. Chekalin called for the speedy drafting of a bilateral agreement on simplified border-crossing procedures for residents of border areas, the implementation of a 1998 bilateral agreement on regulating migration, and the opening of a branch of the Russian Interior Ministry`s Migration Office in Kazakhstan.
Tajik Prosecutors To Probe Killings Of JournalistsRadio Free EuropeDushanbe, January 7: The Tajik Prosecutor-General`s Office has set up a special group to investigate the killings of journalists during Tajikistan`s 1992-97 civil war, Asia Plus-Blitz and ITAR-TASS reported on 7 January, quoting a letter sent by the office to the New York-based NGO the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ). The CPJ recently submitted a list of journalists killed during the civil war to the Tajik authorities and asked what steps have been taken to identify and punish the killers. The Prosecutor-General`s Office responded that some cases have been solved and the culprits have been sentenced to long prison terms, but admitted that investigations into some cases were suspended due to a lack of evidence. Some 73 journalists, both Tajik and foreign, are believed to have been killed during the Tajik civil war.
Tajik Media Association Reports On Violations Of Journalists RightsRadio Free EuropeDushanbe, January 7: The National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan has prepared a report on violations of the rights of journalists and the media in the last four months of 2003, indicating that the number of such cases had increased compared with the beginning of the year, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 6 January. The 70 cases cited in the report, including recent cases involving `Ruz-i Nav` and `Nerui Sukhan` (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 5 January 2004), involved primarily intimidation and restricted access to information, which the report described as limiting media freedom and hampering media development. This was the second report prepared by the association.
Kyrgyz Ombusman To Focus On Students Rights In 2004Radio Free EuropeBishkek, January 7: Kyrgyz Ombudsman Tursunbai Bakir-uulu told a press conference on 6 January that this year his office will focus on the rights of students, kabar.kg reported on 7 January. Bakir-uulu said he is concerned over the increase in corruption within higher-educational institutions. Frequently good students must bribe their teachers in order to get good grades, he alleged. The Ombudsman`s Office is setting up a confidential telephone line for students` complaints. The validity of their complaints will be assessed by instructors from other educational institutions, Bakir-uulu said.
Turkmen Foreign Ministry Says Exit Visas Were Temporary MeasureRadio Free EuropeAshgabat, January 7: Echoing Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov`s assertion earlier this week that Turkmenistan does not require exit visas (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 7 January 2004), the Turkmen Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 7 January that the exit-visa regime reinstituted in March 2003 was only intended to prevent people allegedly involved in the November 2002 purported coup attempt against Niyazov from leaving the country, RIA-Novosti reported. The exit-visa requirement has been replaced by a special stamp obtainable from the ministry`s consular section upon presentation of an entry visa to the country of destination, the same requirement that applied after the suspension of the exit-visa regime in 2001.
TAJIKISTAN: Journalists Still Face Violations Of Their RightsIRIN NewsAnkara, January 7: An independent Tajik media watchdog, the only one of its kind, said on Wednesday it registered 100 possible violations of the rights of journalists in 2003. The body also expressed concern that freedom of information was under attack in the Central Asian republic. `The most important problem facing Tajik journalists is access to information sources. Our monitoring of violations of journalists` rights and mass media once more confirmed that this problem exists in Tajik society and needs to be solved,` Nuriddin Karshiboev, chairman of the National Association of Tajik Independent Media (NANSMIT), told IRIN from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. Also, there were other types of violations with regard to rights of journalists and the mass media, particularly incidents of hindering them from their professional duties and intimidation, Karshiboev added. NANSMIT has been monitoring freedom of speech and the right of journalists to operate unhindered in Tajikistan since April 2003. It said that every month it received information related to the violation of the rights of members of the media. This being the case, NANSMIT said in a statement that it was particularly concerned about the independent Dushanbe weekly newspapers Ruzi Nav and Sukhan, adding that it considered the Sharki Ozod publishing house`s refusal to carry Ruzi Nav as well as the refusal of other printing houses to publish the two newspapers as a violation of press freedom. The two newspapers were warned by the Tajik General Prosecutor`s Office and Minister of Culture not to publish any articles `undermining the honour and dignity of President Emomali Rahmonov as well as other government officials`. `Although there are some positive developments in the two biggest cities of Dushanbe and Khujant, we are very concerned over the situation in regions, especially in districts where some officials obstruct the professional duties of journalists,` the media activist explained, noting that there were still lots of things to be done in that direction.
Turkmen President Denies Existence Of Exit Visa RequirementsRadio Free EuropeAshgabat, January 6: Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov asserted during a 5 January cabinet meeting that Turkmen citizens do not need exit visas to leave the country, turkmenistan.ru and RIA-Novosti reported on 6 January. He added that only people who are accused of committing crimes are prevented from leaving the country, and he criticized foreign media for claiming that exit visas are required. The exit-visa regime was suspended in Turkmenistan in 2001, but it was restored in March 2003 in reaction to the purported coup attempt against Niyazov in November 2002. In order to leave the country, Turkmen citizens must obtain a special stamp in their passports from the Foreign Ministry`s consular section
Kyrgyz President Extends Death Penalty MoratoriumInterfaxBishkek, January 6: Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev has extended a moratorium on the execution of the death penalty in the country for one year, the presidential press service told Interfax on Thursday. `Making this decision, the Kyrgyz president was guided by the principles of humanity and charity. The decision was also designed to mark the 55th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,` the press service said. The government has been instructed to allot additional funds to improve the conditions of the people sentenced to the death penalty, it said. At the moment, 150 people in Kyrgyzstan have been sentenced to the death penalty. Kyrgyzstan has annually extended the death penalty moratorium since 1998.
Kyrgyz Authorities Compensate Victims Of Police ViolenceRadio Free EuropeBishkek, January 5: The governor of southern Kyrgyzstan`s Djalal-Abad Oblast, Zhusupbek Sharipov, has ordered that the families of the five demonstrators who were killed by police in March 2002 in the oblast`s Aksy Raion receive 1,000 soms ($23) each, RFE/RL`s Kyrgyz Service reported on 5 January. Twenty-five residents of the raion who were wounded in the police attack will also receive 1,000 soms. One of the grievances frequently voiced by the victims of the assault has been the failure of the authorities to provide compensation. In another decree, Sharipov ordered that the families of people killed during the incursions of armed Muslim extremists into southern Kyrgyzstan in 1999 and 2000 receive compensation of 10,000 soms per family, while people wounded in the fighting will receive 5,000 soms each.
Top Managers In Tajik Pyramid Scheme Case SentencedRadio Free EuropeDushanbe, January 4: The Tajik Supreme Court on 31 December handed down hefty jail sentences to top managers of the Dushanbe firm Jamal and Co. for tax evasion and illegal banking activities, Asia Plus-Blitz reported on 4 January. The firm had set up a pyramid scheme that involved thousands of Tajik citizens who purchased beads from the firm, which promised to buy back the finished jewelry at a considerable markup. The firm`s top managers were arrested in August (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 18 and 27 August 2003), and the Prosecutor-General`s Office handed the case directly to the Supreme Court at the end of October (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 3 November 2003). Jamal director Dzhamshed Siyoev was sentenced to 11 years in prison, while his deputy Zafar Kamolov and chief accountant Vyacheslav Tsoi were sentenced to eight years each. Their lawyer announced that he intends to appeal.
Tajik Drug Agency Reports 9.6 Tons Of Afghan Narcotics Seized In 2003Radio Free EuropeDushanbe, January 7: Avaz Yuldashev, head of the press office of the Tajik Agency for Narcotics Control, announced on 7 January that Tajik law enforcement and Russian border guards seized 9.6 tons of illegal drugs along the Tajik-Afghan border in 2003, RIA-Novosti reported. This represented an increase of 3 tons over 2002. The total included 5.6 tons of heroin. Yuldashev said the cultivation of opium poppies and other plants providing the raw material for contraband drugs is expected to double in Afghanistan in 2004, and complained that the international antiterrorism campaign in that country has not affected drug production.
Russia Extends Space Site LeaseBBCAstana, January 9: The leaders of Russia and Kazakhstan have agreed to extend Moscow`s lease of the Baikonur launch site until 2050. The site is Russia`s only facility for launching manned space flights. President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart, Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed the deal at a meeting in Kazakhstan`s capital, Astana. Launch activity at Baikonur has decreased in recent years, with Moscow moving most of its military space work to Plesetsk in north-west Russia. But about 80,000 people are still employed at Baikonur, which is now used mainly for commercial and scientific launches. It has launched all supplies and missions to the International Space Station since the United States grounded its shuttle fleet in February last year after the Columbia shuttle broke up in mid-air. The agreement made no mention of any changes to the annual rent of $115m.
Russia, Kazakhstan To Sign Agreements On Baikonur, EnergyInterfaxMoscow, January 7: A set of documents will be signed during an official visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kazakhstan on January 9-10. Seven or eight agreements will be signed, including documents on the Baikonur spaceport and fuel and energy cooperation, Russian presidential deputy chief of staff Sergei Prikhodko told Interfax. Deeper cooperation in space exploration and the efficient use of the Baikonur spaceport will be key items on the agenda of negotiations between President Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev. Russia and Kazakhstan have nearly drafted two documents on Baikonur, Russian Aerospace Agency Deputy General Director Alexander Kuznetsov told Interfax. He said one of the documents extended Russian`s lease on Baikonur for 50 years. The agreement does not change the rent, Kuznetsov added. The Russian-Kazakh agreement, `On Fundamental Principles and Terms for Using the Baikonur Spaceport` of March 28, 1994, says that Russia will rent the spaceport for 20 years and the period may be extended. The new agreement on Baikonur will also address the spaceport`s safety
Kazakhstan Launches Space ProgrammeRadio Free EuropeAstana, January 3: Kazakhstan has launched a space program by sending a government commission to Russia`s Khrunichev State Space Center to build the Kazakhstan`s first telecommunications satellite, Kazinform reported on 3 January. Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov discussed the construction and launching of the satellite with Khrunichev Center Director Aleksandr Medvedev in Astana on 31 December. The project, which also includes the training of Kazakh aerospace specialists, will be financed through a state innovation fund that was set up in 2003. Since the country gained its independence, Kazakh officials have talked about using the facilities at the Russian-leased Baikonur Space Center for a Kazakh space program.
Special Focus
Saakashvili Secures Presidency Amid Heavy Turnout In Georgia
Calling it `probably the fairest election` in Georgia`s history, National Movement leader Mikheil Saakashvili declared himself the winner of the January 4 presidential poll in Georgia. Saakashvili promised reforms to streamline government and reduce corruption, while cautioning that fostering stability in Georgia `will not happen in a day or two.`
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav010504.shtmlGeorgia: A Small Pawn In The Great Game
As Georgia welcomes in a new president this week after the US-encouraged regime change in November - despite Russia`s last-minute efforts to mediate between warring sides - Moscow and Washington appear to be on the verge of a micro-Cold War over the country. Subsequently, the Kremlin remains wary.
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/FA07Ag03.htmlGeorgia Tastes Freedom
Democracy has a new convert: Georgia. Mikhail Saakashvili will today be officially declared the victor of the Caucasian republic`s first free election for more than a decade. The president`s most urgent task will be to persuade Moscow to abandon its attempts to divide and rule his country. Though Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, escaping from the Russian sphere of influence has proved more difficult.
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/2004/01/07/dl0702.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/01/07/ixopinion.html Moscow Wary Over Georgia`s New Leader
Speaking on Monday after his landslide victory in Georgia`s presidential election, Mikhail Saakashvili vowed to turn years of enmity with Russia into stronger, cooperative ties. `One of the main priorities of Georgia`s new leadership is to establish much closer, warmer, and friendlier relations with the Russian Federation. The first steps in that direction have already been made
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/FA07Ag02.htmlGeorgia`s Interim Foreign Minister: Russian Security Depends On Georgian Stabilisation
One of Georgian President-elect Mikheil Saakashvili`s top policy priorities is stabilizing Tbilisi`s often troubled relationship with Russia. Saakashvili, who remains committed to promoting Georgia`s integration into Western security and economic structures, at the same time has promised that ties between Tbilisi and Moscow will move to a `new level.`
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav010604.shtmlArmenia: Amnesty For Cash For Diaspora Draft Dodgers
An Armenian law that waives prison terms for draft dodgers in exchange for a monetary payment is the latest indicator of the governments desire to entice emigres to return. The large majority of those who would be covered under the law are expatriates.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav010704a.shtmlRussian Policy Makers Struggle To Respond To Political Changes In GeorgiaFaced with the oft-stated desire of Georgian President-elect Mikheil Saakashvili to improve relations with Russia, policy-makers in Moscow are struggling to recalibrate their stance towards Tbilisi. Some influential political thinkers advocate a policy shift, urging greater cooperation instead of continued confrontation. The bulk of Russian policy experts, however, question Saakashvili`s sincerity in seeking to improve bilateral ties.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav010804.shtmlNiyazov Lifts Exit Visa Requirement For Turkmen Citizens
Turkmenistan`s mercurial leader Saparmurat Niyazov appears to have lifted an exit-visa requirement for Turkmen citizens. If confirmed, the move would mark a momentous shift for Niyazov, who has taken action in recent years to isolate Turkmenistan from outside influences.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/rights/articles/eav010804.shtmlRussian Intelligence Presence In The CIS
The depth of intelligence co-operation between Russia and CIS states, including the most reluctant members of this organization, has traditionally been downplayed for political reasons. Security ties, however, do exist, and are now viewed by President Putin as a key instrument of Moscow`s influence in the post-Soviet states.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=1975Kazakhstan`s Draft Media Law A Setback For Press FreedomTwo prominent journalists` organizations withdrew Dec. 9 from the parliamentary working group on Kazakhstan`s draft media law, a move that signalized their increasing frustration with the negotiation process. Internews Kazakhstan and the International Foundation for the Protection of Speech Adil Soz issued a public statement calling the working group `unacceptable and hopeless` and said they would take `no responsibility over the final result.`
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=1976 Heightened Geopolitical Competition Over The Caucasus?Following the elections in Azerbaijan and Georgia and the subsequent changes in the leadership of the two countries, Russia and the U.S. seem to be engaging in a new competition over the region. Newly elected President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan seems to temporarily satisfy both the U.S. and Russian interests and will strive to maintain a balance of power, but Shevardnadze`s resignation weakened Russia`s position in Georgia and thus revived Moscow`s fears of losing control over the region.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=1977How Demographics Will Impact Geopolitics In Central AsiaThe dynamics of demographic change in Central Asia and the former Soviet Union will increasingly play an important role in maintaining stability in the former Soviet Union and hence in the European continent writ large.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=1978US Officials Warily Monitor Russian Policy Debate On CaucasusUS official are warily monitoring a policy debate in Russia over how Moscow should deal with its former Soviet neighbors. Many in Washington believe that the strong showing by nationalists in the recent Russian parliamentary election could prompt the Kremlin to toughen its stance towards states in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav010904b.shtml
Report Dated 9 January 2004 2003