Turkmen President Urges Ethnic Uzbeks To Chose Citizenship
Itar-Tass
Ashgabat, June 4: Turkmenistan`s President Saparmurat Niyazov has called on ethnic Uzbeks living along the Turkmen-Uzbek border to make their mind on their citizenship. He made the statement during his trip in the Balkansky region. The issue of citizenship has arisen after a recent meeting of the Turkmen-Uzbek commission on border delimitation and demarcation in Ashgabat. `The Uzbek side has finally recognised as a territory of Turkmenistan an area of 17,867 hectares that is situated along the Turkmen-Uzbek state border and has been used since the times of the Soviet Union by economic entities of Uzbekistan,` Niyazov said. `All who wish to stay will have to register Turkmen citizenship,` he said.
Defense Lawyers Argue Us Law Does Not Pertain To Kazakhstani Bribery Case
Kazakhstan News
Astana, June 3: Lawyers for James Giffen, the American merchant banker facing charges of bribing top Kazakhstani government officials, accused the United States of `legal imperialism` during a June 3 pre-trial hearing. US law does not apply to Giffen`s actions since they occurred in Kazakhstan, the banker`s defense team argued. During the hearing, defense lawyers pushed for a dismissal of the case against Giffen, who is facing multiple counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Giffen, according to the federal indictment against him, allegedly funneled over $78 million into bank accounts controlled by President Nursultan Nazarbayev and former prime minister Nurlan Balgimbayev to facilitate energy-development deals in the mid-1990s between Kazakhstan and Mobil Oil Corp., which is now part of ExxonMobil. The case is viewed as politically explosive in Kazakhstan.
Armenian Opposition Vows To Defy Demonstration Ban
Radio Free Europe
Yerevan, June 3: Leading members of the Artarutiun opposition alliance said in Yerevan on 3 June that they will proceed with the planned demonstration in the city on the evening of 4 June even though city officials have refused permission for it on the grounds that the protest could turn violent, RFE/RL`s Armenian Service reported. Artarutiun member Albert Bazeyan, himself a former Yerevan mayor, claimed that the `illegal` decision to ban the protest originated in the presidential administration. Bazeyan refused to say whether the protesters would march to the presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Robert Kocharian.
Opposition Demonstration Thwarted In Uzbekistan
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, June 3: Police and security officials in Tashkent intercepted early on 1 June opposition activists both in Tashkent and from other regions of Uzbekistan who intended to converge on the capital to stage the first opposition demonstration in Uzbekistan in a decade, `Novye izvestiya` reported on 3 June, quoting centrasia.ru. Only some 30 of the 1,000 people who intended to participate in the protest managed to reach the venue selected for it, and they were dispersed by police within minutes after unfurling placards calling for the resignation of President Islam Karimov.
Koran, Rukhnama Inscriptions To Decorate Walls Of Turkmenistan`s Largest Mosque
Interfax
Ashgabat, June 2: The walls of the largest mosque in Turkmenistan, which is under construction in the Kipchak village near Ashgabat, will be decorated with extracts from the Koran and the Rukhnama book written by Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, the Turkmen media reported on Thursday. Commandments from the holy Rukhnama, `a guiding star for this and future generations of Turkmen citizens,` will be written on the mosque walls next to Koran Suras. The writings will be done in the Turkmen language. `If the inscriptions were written in Arabic, many people wouldn`t be able to read them,` the media cited President Niyazov as saying. The French-based Bouygues Company is building the mosque for 20,000 people on an area of 7,000 square meters.
Structural Changes In The Administration Of The President
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, June 3: The staff of administration of the president of Kyrgyzstan was reduced for 10 per cent. The head of administration Toychubek Kasymov informed about it. As he said, reduction of quantity of employees has taken place according to Decrees of the head of the state ` on administration of president ÊR ` and ` on optimization of structure and regular number of administration president KR `. ` Liberated as a result of reduction, employees will be employed according to the legislation `, - T. Kasymov has told. It has noted that it accordingly will cut down expenses of the state budget for the maintenance of administration, and to allow to direct additional means for the decision of social and economic problems. Within the framework of administrative reform in the republic, new position, structure and regular number of administration of the president of Kyrgyzstan are authorized. As the chief of administration of T. Kasymov informed journalists, due to association of working counselors and assistants to the president, the group of counselors and assistants to the head of the state who should carry out the problems properly and correctly.
Opposition Site Says Turkmen Gas Head Flees
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, June 2: Turkmen opposition site watan.ru reported on 2 June that Guichnazar Tachnazarov, chairman of state gas company Turkmengaz, has fled Turkmenistan for Great Britain. According to the report, which was attributed to the German-based Zentralasiatische Pressagentur, Tachnazarov left the country to avoid imminent arrest. On 17 May, Kakajan Chariyev, the director of the Seydi oil refinery, was sacked for failing to stop smuggling (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 18 May 2004) and Tachnazarov apparently felt that he would be next. Watan.ru reported that charges have been filed against both men and that Turkmen authorities are making efforts to return Tachnazarov to Turkmenistan.
Kazakh Newspaper Disavows Fake Issue
Radio Free Europe
Astana, June 2: The editors of the opposition newspaper `Assandi-Times` issued a statement on 2 June alerting media, Western embassies, Kazakh authorities, and other readers to a forged issue of the newspaper distributed on 2 June. Calling the forged issue a `provocation,` the editors alleged that `this is one more action by the [Kazakh] presidential administration, or structures close to it, in an attempt to discredit the newspaper in the eyes of its readers.` The editors asked Kazakh authorities to investigate the matter. The Internet publication `Navigator` issued the centerpiece article of the bogus issue -- a mock letter from jailed opposition leader Galymzhan Zhaqiyanov in which he purportedly speaks out against the opposition parties that have been his staunchest supporters.
Kazakh Government Denies Fake Paper Scandal
Agence France Presse
Astana, June 2: A Kazakh newspaper has claimed the government created a fake edition of its publication to dismiss serious allegations against the president. One of the few national newspapers to report a presidential scandal, the Assandi Times cried foul on Wednesday over the `special edition` sold openly on the streets of the capital Almaty. US prosecutors have alleged President Nursultan Nazarbayev and former oil minister Nurlan Balgimbayev received more than $78 million in bribes from US businessman James Giffen, whose trial on corruption charges begins on Thursday. Giffen, who brokered deals with major Western oil firms for Kazakhstan, is to go on trial in New York on Thursday, accused of breaking US corruption laws. He denies the charges. The `special edition` said the court case was a fabrication organised by former prime minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin, who lives in exile, echoing Nazarbayev`s own dismissal of the case as a `set-up` by Kazhegeldin. Clearly fake `It`s obvious at first glance that this is a forgery,` said Assandi Times deputy editor Galina Dyrdina.
Uzbek President Sacks Regional Governor
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, June 1: President Islam Karimov issued a decree on 1 June removing Toshmirzo Qodirov from his post as governor of Surkhandarya Oblast, the official Uzbek news agency UzA reported the same day. Speaking at an unscheduled meeting of the regional council, Karimov lashed out at Qodirov for `serious shortcomings,` Uzbek TV reported on 1 June. Karimov cited specific instances of embezzlement and nepotism to justify Qodirov`s removal. Abduhakim Eshmurodov, a district head from the same region, was picked to replace Qodirov. Qodirov is the second governor to be fired in a week; the governor of Andijan was sacked on 25 May.
Kakha Bendukidze Appointed Georgian Economics Minister
Interfax
Tbilisi, June 1: Businessman Kakha Bendukidze, who lives and works in Russia, has been appointed Georgia`s economics minister, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania said in Tbilisi on Tuesday. Bendukidze`s appointment was coordinated with President Mikheil Saakashvili, Zhvania said. `He is an economist on a global scale. Bendukidze has very good relations with all the world`s leading economic centers,` the prime minister said. Asked whether Bendukidze, who is general director of United Heavy Machinery (Uralmash-Izhora Group), is going to invest in Georgia`s economy, the prime minister said that `naturally, the minister will not be able to invest his own money in the enterprises under his control.` Saakashvili called Bendukidze `a true patriot of Georgia` while speaking at the Georgian-Russian economic forum in Tbilisi on Monday evening.
Kazakh Opposition Party Threatens Election Boycott
Radio Free Europe
Astana, May 31: Kazakhstan`s opposition Ak Zhol Party threatened on 31 May to boycott fall parliamentary elections to protest violations in the formation of local electoral commissions, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the same day. Party co-Chairman Alikhan Baymenov told a 31 May news conference that the executive branch has put pressure on local government organs to ensure that pro-government parties control local electoral commissions. According to Baymenov, `The authorities are simply picking certain people and are including them [in commissions] in order to fill the lists up to seven members so that Ak Zhol, the Communist Party, and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan come eighth, ninth, or 10th.`
Russian Border Troops To Have Task Force In Tajikistan
Itar-Tass
Sochi, June 4: The Russian border force format will change in Tajikistan. A task force of the Russian Border Troops will be formed there by mutual consent, assistant to the Russian president Sergei Prikhodko said referring to the negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov. `A task force of the Russian Border Troops will be formed in Tajikistan, and Russian border guards will continue transferring control of the Tajik frontier to Tajikistan,` Prikhodko said. He said Rakhmonov had asked Putin `to extent for one year, till late 2006, the transfer of the Tajik-Afghan frontier under control of Tajikistan.` `Working groups will consider the request,` Prikhodko said.
US Is Not Going To Increase Expenses In Kyrgyz Airbase Upkeep: Airbase Spokesman
RIA Novosti
Bishkek, June 4: The United States is not going to increase expenses on the upkeep of its airbase at Manas airport in Kyrgyzstan, public relations executive Mike Johnson told journalists in Bishkek. In view of the large expenses, the airbase command has rejected the plans to build a new cantonment on the 300 hectares of land leased from the Kyrgyz government in fall 2003. Instead, it will replace tents housing men by prefab houses, Johnson said. A canteen is going to be built. The American military will continue with the lease of the 300 hectares. So far, no decision has yet been taken what to make of it and it is standing idle, Johnson said. Now, the Manas airbase, created under the UN mandate as the base for the antiterrorist coalition to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, is housing about 1,000 American servicemen.
Tajik Frontier: Changed Russian Presence Format Not To Dampen Safety
RIA Novosti
Moscow, June 4: Russia will shortly change the pattern of its military presence on the Tajik frontier by establishing an operation group. The arrangement will not make the frontier less safe, President Emomali Rakhmonov of Tajikistan reassured Russia`s President Vladimir Putin at today`s summit, a Kremlin functionary said to Novosti. As they met in Sochi, Russian Black Sea coastal spa, the summiteers agreed on Russian border guards to set up an operation group. In team with Tajik soldiers, it will detect and prevent drug trafficking, paramilitary penetration, and other dangers. The change will certainly not undermine security nor harass drug efforts, stressed President Rakhmonov. The operation force will not patrol or monitor particular frontier stretches, but will possibly undertake crime detection together with Tajik colleagues, expects our informant. Russia will go on training Tajik border guards, and carry on material and technical assistance to Tajikistan. `We shall ponder the matter,` said the interviewee when asked how Russia is likely to respond to President Rakhmonov`s request. He asked his Russian partner to put off by twelve months, into 2006, a deadline, earlier agreed upon, for passing particular stretches of the Tajik frontier under Tajikistan`s control. An agreement of May 25, 1993, envisages the frontier gradually passing under Tajik own guard. A stretch of the Tajik-Chinese frontier passed last year, and work started to pass a part of the Tajik-Afghan stretch. As President Rakhmonov sees it, the prolongation demands a new agreement on the frontier alliance. Its signing will be the biggest task for President Putin, who is preparing an official visit to Tajikistan.
Russian - Tajik Military Exercise In Dushanbe
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, June 3: Russian and Tajik forces in Dushanbe successfully warded off a mock chemical attack in exercises on 3 June, ITAR-TASS reported the same day. Russian border troops, units from Russia`s 201st Motorized Infantry Division, Tajik Defense Ministry forces, and Tajik rescuers took part in the training. Major General Aleksandr Baranov, the commander of Russian border troops in Tajikistan, told the news agency, `Since there are international terrorist forces, including Al-Qaeda, in Afghanistan, there is a real potential threat that they could break through into Tajikistan.`
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan Differ On Border Incident
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, June 3: Kazakh and Uzbek officials advanced differing versions on 3 June of a fatal shooting incident on the Kazakh-Uzbek border on 1 June even as a Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that the event will not harm relations between the two countries, KazInform reported on 3 June. The news agency quoted a press release from Uzbekistan`s National Security Service (SNB) as saying that `weapons were used lawfully against a violator of the border.` The SNB noted that a crowd of 15 Kazakh nationals gathered at the border crossing after a car attempted to enter Uzbekistan illegally. In the ensuing confrontation, Nurzhigit Padanov, a Kazakh national, was shot and killed. For his part, Valikhan Konurbaev, director of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry`s consular department, stated that Uzbek border guards wrongfully fired on civilians who were putting up no resistance, Khabar news agency reported.
Georgia Sends New Troops To Separatist Region
Agence France-Presse
Tbilisi, June 3: Georgia ratcheted up pressure on its separatist region of South Ossetia by announcing it was sending more troops to the border of the pro-Russia territory. The announcement flew in the face of comments from South Ossetia on Wednesday that Georgia had instead agreed to pull out from the region after delicate negotiations that also involved representatives from Russia. Instead, Georgia loaded tanks and armored personnel carriers on trains to be deployed to Gori, a military base a few miles (kilometers) of South Ossetia`s border, a defense ministry official said. `We are carrying out a series of planned tactical security missions,` defense ministry spokesman Irakli Chikovani told AFP. `In the coming weeks, the number of Georgian peacekeepers (at the border) will grow to 500 personnel,` added Georgian State Minister Goga Khaindrava. Georgia`s quota for troops stationed at the border, according to an earlier peace agreement with the region, is 500 troops, with additional soldiers policing the tumultuous region from Russia and South Ossetia. Currently some 150 peacekeepers are stationed in a 10-kilometer-wide border region policed by Russian, Georgian and South Ossetian forces. The South Ossetian leadership, however, claims that up to 4,000 Georgian soldiers are actually now based in the region, a charge that Tbilisi denies, and which AFP reporters at the scene said seemed unfounded.
Command Control Exercises Begin In Kyrgyzstan
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, June 2: Command-and-control exercises involving the CIS Collective Rapid Reaction Forces (CRRF) and Kyrgyzstan`s own rapid-reaction forces began on 2 June in Kyrgyzstan, Kabar news agency reported the same day. A spokesman for Kyrgyzstan`s Defense Ministry told RIA-Novosti that the exercises are intended to `work through issues of preparing and conducting joint missions between the CRRF and Kyrgyz military and law enforcement to preserve Kyrgyzstan`s military security in the case of a threat to its stability.` The exercises were expected to last until 3 June.
Kazakh National Dies In Uzbek Border Incident
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, June 1: A Kazakh citizen was killed in an apparent dispute with Uzbek border guards at the Kazakh-Uzbek border on 1 June, KazInform reported the next day. On the evening of 1 June, 27-year-old Nurzhigit Botanov was attempting to travel from a village in Kazakhstan to a nearby Uzbek village. According to the news agency, an argument broke out during a document check and Uzbek border guards opened fire on Botanov, killing him. Kazakh authorities, who are conducting an investigation, told KazInform that this is the fourth fatal shooting of a Kazakh citizen by Uzbek border guards. A police source told Interfax-Kazakhstan on 2 June that `a thorough investigation into the incident is needed.`
EU-funded Pilot Border Project Implemented Successfully
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, June 1: Press conference dedicated to completion of the pilot project on Border Management in Central Asia (BOMCA), financed by the European Union, was held in Tashkent on 21 May. The project was implemented by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Uzbekistan and the Committee for Protection of State Borders under the National Security Service of Uzbekistan between 1 February and 31 May 2004. BOMCA was the first pilot project to demonstrate what can be achieved in close cooperation among Central Asian states in fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and illegal penetration of guerrillas to the territory of neighbouring countries. The main aim of the project was to unite interests of state security with interests of civil security. The European Union issued US$66,500 to implement the project, of which US$50,000 went to strengthening technical potential (copy machines, printers, computers, digital cameras, publications on international humanitarian rights conventions and two-volume book on passport samples were bought) of two checkpoints in Termez and Ferghana Valley. The remaining sum was used for organisation of four two-day training seminars for eight groups of Uzbek border guards. A total of 170 border guards passed this training.
CSTO Rapid Reaction Forces To Hold Exercises In August
Kabar Agency
Dushanbe, June 1: The rapid reaction forces of the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) will hold exercises codenamed Rubezh-2004 (Frontier-2004) in late July-early August, the forces` commander Major General Sergey Chernomyrdin told reporters here on Tuesday. `The preliminary phase of the war games will be held in Kazakhstan and their subsequent active phase will take place in Kyrgyzstan from August 3-6,` the general said. In the course the maneuvers, the troops will practice prevention of terrorist threats to the CSTO countries and interaction of CSTO units in the liquidation of a maneuver enemy group invading Kyrgyzstan from a neighboring country. General Chernomyrdin said a battalion of Russia`s 201st Gatchina motor-rifle division deployed in Tajikistan would be reinforced within the framework of the CSTO rapid reaction forces with a battalion of the 27th motor-rifle division stationed in the Volga-Ural Military District.
Chief Of CIS Anti Terror Force Mulls Cooperation With US Led Coalition
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, June 1: Major General Sergei Chernomordin, commander of the CIS Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF), told journalists in Dushanbe on 1 June that the CRRF could cooperate with the U.S.-led antiterror coalition in Central Asia, ITAR-TASS reported the same day. Noting that Russia, the United States, Great Britain, and France are doing `the same job of countering the terrorist threat,` Chernomordin suggested that the CRRF could cooperate with coalition forces stationed in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. For now, however, there is no direct liaison between the CRRF and the U.S.-led coalition.
Moscow, Baku Discuss Weapons Trade
Interfax
Baku, June 1: Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasi-zade and director general of the Russian federal military and technical cooperation service Mikhail Dmitriyev met in Baku to discuss weapons trade on Tuesday. The Azerbaijani Cabinet`s press service told Interfax that the prime minister stressed that Azerbaijan is interested in developing connections with Russia in various areas, including weapons trade. Rasi-zade said that an agreement concerning weapons trade had been signed by Russia and Azerbaijan which resolved many issues. Rasi-zade said that the arrival of such a high-level delegation in Azerbaijan `will help coordinate joint work and find new, mutually beneficial ways to cooperate.`
Tajikistan To Be In Charge Of Tajik-Afghani Border Guard
RIA Novosti
Moscow, May 31: The possible stage-by-stage passing of Tajik-Afghani border guard functions to Tajik border guards will complicate the situation with countering drug trafficking in that region. This was said to journalists on Monday by the deputy head of the Russian Federal Service for Control over the Drug and Psychotropic Substances` Turnover, Alexander Mikhailov. Last week, the head of Russia`s FSB Border Service, Vladimir Pronichev, did not rule out that Russian border guards will be gradually withdrawn from the Tajik-Afghani border and Tajik border guards will be charged with protecting this section. `We are sure this will complicate the situation with the fight against drug trafficking, since even Americans are alarmed over this problem,` Mr. Mikhailov said. He said most part of narcotics come to Russia from Afghanistan. `Russia is ready for cooperation in creating security belts around Afghanistan. International cooperation is important for us, which would allow to build the security system so as to maximally reduce the scale of the Afghani drug threat,` Mr. Mikhailov said. It`s necessary that all Russian power structures should build `the security system so that the very fact of border guards` withdrawal from the Tajik-Afghani border does not entail catastrophic consequences,` Mr. Mikhailov said.
Russian Envoy Says Too Early For Tajik Border Handover
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, May 31: Maksim Peshkov, Russia`s ambassador to Tajikistan, told ITAR-TASS on 31 May that `it is still too early to talk about the terms of conditions` of transferring control over the Tajik-Afghan border from Russia to Tajikistan. Talks on the impending handover, which is supposed to be completed by May 2005, are currently under way. `Our attitude to this process will in many respects depend on how tightly the Tajik side will protect the border with Afghanistan,` Peshkov commented. Peshkov is not alone in his concerns. Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, told a 28 May news conference in Dushanbe that the withdrawal of Russian border guards from Tajikistan will create `definite problems,` ITAR-TASS reported. The issue will be the subject of talks at a 4 June meeting between Tajik President Rakhmonov and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Igor Ivanov, head of the Russian Security Council, commented on 31 May,
Georgian Armed Forces Receive 8mln Euros Worth Of Aid From Italy
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, May 29: The Italian government has handed over eight million euros worth of military uniforms and special equipment to the Georgian armed forces in a ceremony held at the Georgian Defence Ministry in Tbilisi on Saturday. Georgian Defence Minister Gela Bezhuashvili told reporters on Saturday that the Italian government`s aid was extremely important for the Georgian armed forces. The aid package includes field and service uniforms, footwear, jackets, shelter-halves and pilot uniforms.
SCO Security Councils Secretaries Discuss Terrorism
RIA Novosti
Tashkent, June 4: At a meeting in Tashkent to prepare for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, SCO security council secretaries agreed to meet regularly. The SCO includes Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov told reporters Friday that at the meeting the sides exchanged views on urgent issues in the development of the situation in the SCO space and in the adjacent regions from the point of view of international and regional security. In this light they considered the most important issues of consolidating cooperation between the SCO member-countries in the sphere of the fight against international terrorism, separatism and extremism, illegal drug trafficking, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, mercenaries and other threats to regional and global security and stability. The secretaries expressed a common opinion on the necessity for the SCO to cooperate with other authoritative international organizations and states.
SCO Anti Terrorist Structure To Open At June Summit
RIA Novosti
Beijing, June 1: The official opening of the Regional Antiterrorist Structure (RATS) will be held in June at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, said Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Li Hui at a press conference on dedicated to the forthcoming visits of Chinese President Hu Jintao to Poland, Hungary, Romania and Uzbekistan. Mr. Hu will participate in the in the SCO summit in Tashkent. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. According to the Chinese diplomat, the official opening of the RATS headquarters means that the international organization was entering a new stage of development. The agreement on the formation of the antiterrorist structure was signed in June 2002 at the SCO summit in St. Petersburg. The structure`s will provide for cooperation between the SCO member countries in the fight against international terrorism, separatism and extremism. In accordance with the agreement between the six member countries, the permanent headquarters of the structure will be located in Tashkent. Representatives from the UN, the European Union, the OSCE, the CIS will participate in the SCO summit on June 16-17, Mr. Li said. According to the Chinese diplomat, the leaders of the SCO member countries will discuss issues concerning the development of the organization, set goal for cooperation in the various spheres of the SCO interaction, and discuss issues concerning the SCO`s role in international and regional affairs.
Kazakh PM, Shell Executives Mull Caspian Development
Radio Free Europe
Astana, June 2: Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov, Shell Companies of Kazakhstan President Martin Ferstl, and Ron van den Berg, regional CEO for Shell`s Exploration and Production Business for the Middle East, Russia and CIS, discussed the development of the Kashagan offshore field in the Caspian in Astana on Wednesday. Akhmetov said he wants `to reasonably speed up operations in order to finally proceed to specific actions,` the prime minister`s press service reports. The PM said that understandings reached under the project will be carried out in keeping with acting tax legislation. Kashagan is a major oilfield with geological oil reserves of 4.8 billion tonnes.
Turkey, US Want Kazakhstan To Join Pipeline Project
Radio Free Europe
Astana, June 2: Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler told journalists at a 2 June news conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, that Turkey expects Kazakhstan to join the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project, Anatolia reported the same day. Guler went so far as to say, `We wish it were referred to as the Aktau-Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [project].` Kazakh President Nazarbaev has pledged on numerous occasions to transport Kazakh oil via the BTC, most recently during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev`s early March visit to Kazakhstan. Stephen Mann, the U.S. State Department envoy for Caspian energy development, foreshadowed Guler`s comments, remarking in Baku on 1 June, `We are hopeful of the integration of Kazakhstan into the BTC system,` `Baku Today` reported the next day.
U.S. Official: Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Best Route
Interfax
Baku, June 2: The U.S. State Department senior adviser on Caspian basin energy diplomacy, Steven Mann, has argued that the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is the best route for Caspian oil exports. He said the United States also supported a proposal for Kazakhstan to use the pipeline but added that the success of the project did not depend on Kazakh oil and that Azerbaijan had enough oil to fill the pipeline. He said the U.S. government also supported other transportation projects. They included the Odessa-Brody Pipeline, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, and Kazakhstan-China Pipeline projects.
Kazakhstan`s Gold, Forex Reserves Exceed $10 Bln
Interfax
Astana, June 1: Kazakhstan`s gold and foreign-exchange reserves - including gross reserves at the National Bank and reserves of the National Fund - increased 18 per cent from that start of 2004 and exceeded $10 billion on May 28, Chairman of the National Bank Anvar Saidenov said at a joint meeting of parliament. National Bank reserves grew almost 30 per cent from the start of 2004 and were $6.4 billion on May 28, he said. The gross reserves increased because forex supply exceeded demand on the market during the five months, Saidenov said.
Construction Of Sino-Kazakhstan Oil Pipeline To Kick Off
People`s Daily
Beijing, June 1: Lying in inland Asian continent, to seek for access to the sea and marine channels to international market becomes an important strategic task for the Kazakhstan government. In April 1997, in order to safeguard Kazakhstan`s national interest in the transportation of energy resources and import and export, to optimize management in trade, to attract foreign investment and to unify the charge standard along all the lines of energy resources transportation, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev ordered to establish an internally share-holding company for the transportation of energy resources: Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Transportation Company. From January 2002, Kazakhstan National Oil and Gas Company became the only shareholder of the company. Presently, Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Transportation Company is taking active measures and also exploiting and constructing new lines for the output of energy resources. Taking the geographical advantage into consideration, Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Company held that the prospect of cooperation with China in transporting energy resources sees a bright perspective. Kazakh Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov said at an economic forum in §¡ktyubinsk, an oil-producing state in the west that Sino-Kazak oil pipeline bears a great strategic importance and Kazakhstan will take an active part in the construction of the project.
Baku Hopes For Resolution Of Caspian Status Soon
Interfax
Moscow, June 1: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the Caspian Oil and Gas 2004 exhibition, which opened in Baku on Tuesday, that he hopes that the problem of the legal status of the Caspian Sea will be resolved soon. `I hope for a solution to the problem of the Caspian`s status soon,` Aliyev said. `Before there was a certain amount of tension over the legal status of the Caspian. But Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan have signed bilateral agreements on the legal status of the Caspian,` he said.
Botas To Finish Turkish Section Of BTC Pipe On Time
Interfax
Baku, May 31: Turkey`s Botas, the operator for the construction of the Turkish section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, plans to complete this section on time - in December 2004- January 2005, company General Director Mehmet Bilgic told journalists in Baku on Monday He said steps have been taken to make up for delays. `At the moment any delays are not being discussed. The Turkish government has set Botas the task of completing construction on time, and we will do everything possible for this,` he said. The Botas chief said that some delays are natural in a project of this scale. `Our aim is to complete the construction process on time for the agreed amount of $1.4 billion.
Mongolia To Attend SCO Head Of States` Summit In Tashkent
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, June 4: Mongolia will participate at the Tashkent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation`s head of states, which will be held on 17 June. Prior to the SCO summit, the President of China Hu Jintao will pay an official visit to Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan created information centre for local and foreign mass media representatives. The centre, equipped with modern technologies and telecommunication equipment, will serve needs of over 300 journalists. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was founded on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China.
Afghan Leader To Visit Tashkent To Attend SCO Summit
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, June 4: Head of Afghan interim government Hamid Karzai will visit Uzbekistan in mid-June. According to Uzbek Security Council Secretary Ruslan Mirzaev, the Afghan president will participate in the Tashkent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation`s heads of states, which will take place on 17 June. Mirzaev noted that the Afghan leader was invited to the summit as a guest by the Uzbek side.
Putin, Rakhmonov Reach Compromise On Debt Issue
RIA Novosti
Dushanbe, June 4: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rakhmonov, have reportedly found the key to solving the problem of Tajikistan`s outstanding debt to Russia, a source in the Russian government reports. The two leaders are now meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. `Part of the debt, standing at 299 million dollars as of today, will be invested in various energy projects in Tajikistan, specifically in the construction of the Sangtudinskaya hydro-electric power plant,` the source said. According to him, no interest will be charged on the debt in the next two or three years, but if the Tajik side fails to invest in the project, Russia will have it resume interest payments. `Once the construction of this hydro-electric power plant is completed, part of its shares will go to the Russian Federation,` the source said.
Rakhmonov To Meet Putin To Discuss Bilateral Relations
Itar-Tass
Dushanbe, June 4: President Emomali Rakhmonov, of Tajikistan, plans to discuss his country`s future relations with Russia at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to be held in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Friday, Rakhmonov`s press-secretary Abdufattokh Sharipov has said. The preliminary agreement to hold such a meeting was achieved when Russian Security Council Secretary Igor Ivanov paid a brief visit to Dushanbe. Rakhmonov `plans to discuss a wide range of issues concerning Russian-Tajik relations, including those in the military sphere,` he said. In his trip to Russia Rakhmonov is accompanied by Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov, Chief of the General Staff of the Tajik armed forces Ramil Nadirov, commander of Tajikistan`s border guard troops Lieutenant-General Abdurakhmon Azimov and heads of a number of other key ministries and agencies.
Armenia Will Consider Change In Policy If Turkey-EU Talks Begin
Turkish Daily News
Ankara, June 3: The Armenian foreign minister says his country will have to review its foreign policy if Turkey starts membership talks with the EU, while the French Socialist Party says Turkey should recognize the alleged Armenian genocide before starting talks Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said Turkey would start accession negotiations with the European Union this year, adding that in such a situation his country could make important changes in its foreign policy. Speaking during a conference at Yerevan University on Thursday, Oskanian said they hoped U.S. efforts to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia would bear fruit.
Russia, Uzbekistan Intend To Sign Strategic Partnership Treaty
Interfax
Moscow, June 4: Russia and Uzbekistan plan to sign a Strategic Partnership Treaty during Russian President Vladimir Putin`s upcoming visit to Uzbekistan, an official in the press service of the Russian Security Council quoted council Secretary Igor Ivanov as saying. Ivanov attended a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization`s security council secretaries in Tashkent on Friday. He said that during his stay in Tashkent, he had met with top Uzbek officials, notably President Islam Karimov, Foreign Minister Sadyk Safayev and Security Council Secretary Rustam Mirzayev. At the meeting, the security council secretaries discussed issues concerning the expansion of economic and political cooperation between the organization`s member nations, Ivanov said.
Uzbek Leader Receives Russian Security Council`s Head
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, June 3: The President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov received the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Igor Ivanov at presidential residence Oqsaroy on 3 June. Welcoming the guest, Islam Karimov said that present meeting is one more opportunity to discuss issues of cooperation in security issues. At the meeting the sides considered issues on relations between Uzbekistan and Russia, ties between countries within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and other issues of mutual interest. Igor Ivanov arrived in Uzbekistan to participate in the meeting of the SCO Security Councils` secretaries, which will be held in Tashkent today.
Russian Security Council Secretary Meets Uzbek Foreign Minister
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, June 3: Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Igor Ivanov arrived in Tashkent to participate at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation`s Security Councils` secretaries. Igor Ivanov met the Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyk Safev. The sides discussed issues on strengthening security in Central Asia, joint fight against terrorism and organised crime, as well as illegal drug and weapon trafficking. According to UzA, Uzbek and Russian officials also exchanged opinion on preparation to the Tashkent summit of the SCO head of states and perspective cooperation between two countries.
Russia Will Be Offered Membership In Central Asian Cooperation Organization
Pravda
Moscow, June 3: The summit of the Central Asian Cooperation Organization held on last 28th of May, 2004 in the Kazakh capital Astana is a proof to the proverb `Fist is stronger than fingers`. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, independent states emerged in its territory. Each of them chose their own way of development. But the fact is that they need each other. Countries located at a long distance from one another may develop cooperation to stimulate their economies. Nobody is able to replace the neighbors who are sharing common traditions and culture, as well as the past and the future. In an interview given at Tashkent airport prior to departure to Astana, Uzbek President Islam Karimov stated that one more neighboring country would be offered membership in the Central Asian Cooperation Organization. He evidently meant Russia by this `neighboring country`. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan blindly supported the proposal.
Guler Renews Call For Kazakhstan To Join BTC
Turkish Daily News
Ankara, June 3: Turkey expects Kazakhstan to provide crude oil to fill a pipeline transferring Azerbaijan`s oil to Western markets through Turkey`s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said. The delivery of oil from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is expected to start in 2005 with Georgia also acting as a transit country in the project. `We wish the project to be called Aktau-Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. This is also the wish of our President, Prime Minister and government,` Guler told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference on Caspian oil and gas in Baku. Noting that the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) natural gas pipeline, which will run parallel to that of the BTC, was also about to be realized, Guler said, `The main target of the BTE project is Europe.`
Russia, Tajikistan Want To Further Develop Relations
Interfax
Dushanbe, June 3: Russia and Tajikistan are interested in further developing bilateral relations taking both sides` interests into account, Russian Security Council Chairman Igor Ivanov said on Monday following a meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov. `We are interested in the further dynamic development of our relations. All questions should be resolved taking both sides` interests into account,` Ivanov said. He said that `there are no serious problems in the countries` relations. We have every intent to develop a strategic partnership.` `We discussed all the issues based on this approach,` Ivanov said.
Uzbek, Slovak Customs Heads Meet In Uzbek Capital
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, June 2: Director-general of Slovak Customs Directorate Jozef Gonczol is visiting Uzbekistan. According to UzA, Gonczol held negotiations with the chairman of the Uzbek State Customs Committee Bakhadir Matlyubov. Heads of the customs services of two countries signed an agreement on assistance and cooperation in customs issues between Uzbekistan and Slovak Republic. The document covers such issues as experience exchange in different areas of customs, including technical assistance, interaction in fight against drug trafficking and psychotropic means.
Kazakh Foreign Minister Meets With US Secretary Of State
Radio Free Europe
Astana, June 2: Foreign Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev met with Secretary of State Colin Powell on 2 June in Washington, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported the next day. The news agency quoted a Kazakh Foreign Ministry statement saying that the two discussed `bilateral relations, regional politics, and prospects for postwar Iraq stabilization.` Powell hailed Kazakhstan`s efforts to strengthen democracy and singled out for praise President Nursultan Nazarbaev`s recent decision to veto a media law that had drawn criticism from free-speech advocates, KazInform reported. Powell also thanked Kazakhstan for `the important work Kazakh military engineers are doing in Iraq.`
Tashkent City Governor Visits Germany, Participates In Business Forum
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, june 2: Governor of Tashkent city Rustam Shoabdurahmanov visited Germany on the invitation of Berlin Burgomaster. The official held negotiations with representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Labour of Germany, Senate of Berlin and Daimler Chrysler AG`s Berlin office. According to Jahon, the sides discussed issues of mutual cooperation, including delivery of Mercedes Benz and Evobus to Tashkent transport system and cooperation between the Chamber of Commodity Producers and Entrepreneurs of Uzbekistan and Germany. Relations between the capitals of Uzbekistan and Germany, cooperation in city communication, transport, communal services and other issues were discussed during the meeting with Berlin Burgomaster Klaus Wowereit.
Kazakh President Visits Estonia
Radio Free Europe
Astana, June 2: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev met with Estonian President Arnold Ruutel on 2 June in the course of an official visit to Estonia, Khabar reported the same day. In remarks after their meeting, Nazarbaev cited Estonia as an example for Kazakhstan to emulate. `Among all the former Soviet republics, Estonia today boasts the best indicators in economics and in reform, and Estonia`s experience is very important to us,` Khabar quoted Nazarbaev as saying. For his part, Ruutel noted that Kazakhstan and Estonia have `much potential for cooperation in transportation, heavy machinery, and information technologies,` Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. The two presidents signed cooperation agreements on the fight against organized crime and the development of cultural and humanitarian ties, KazInform reported.
Chinese Deputy Minister Of Public Security Arrives In Uzbekistan
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, June 2: Deputy Minister of Public Security of China Yan Huanin arrived in Uzbekistan on 2 May to participate at the session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation`s Secretaries of the Security Councils. The Security Councils secretaries will meet in Tashkent on 3-4 May. On 2 May, Yan Huanin met the First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan Tahir Mullajanov. The sides discussed issues on preparation to the upcoming summit of the SCO heads of states in Tashkent, maintenance of security in two countries, fight against drug trafficking and other issues of mutual interest.
US Against Kazakhstan-Iran Oil Pipeline Plan
Agence France Presse
Baku, June 2: A top US diplomat underlined Washington`s opposition to a French-backed plan which, if realised, would see a pipeline built from Kazakhstan to Iran to export the massive oil reserves underneath the Caspian Sea. `The US is firmly opposed to this pipeline, for reasons both of law and policy,` Steven Mann, the US special envoy on Caspian basin energy issues, told reporters. `Commercially speaking, I think there are better alternatives,` added Mann, who was speaking on the sidelines of the annual Caspian Oil and Gas conference in Azerbaijan`s capital, Baku. Kazakhstan`s government, together with French oil major Total, has been studying the feasibility of building a pipeline to ship crude from Kazakhstan to Iran, and from there to tanker terminals on the Persian Gulf. However, the idea has angered Washington. It has indentified Iran as part of an `axis of evil` and has banned US companies from doing business with Iran`s clerical regime.
Russia Concerned Over Turkmen Decision On Higher Education Certificates
Interfax
Moscow, June 2: The Russian State Duma is worried about Turkmenistan`s decision not to recognize Russian higher education certificates. Duma deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov called on parliament to instruct its committee for CIS affairs to look in
o the situation surrounding `the Turkmen president`s decree making all foreign education certificates, including Russian ones, invalid on the republic`s territory.` Ryzhkov said that this decision would likely provoke a negative response as did the Turkmen authorities` resolution annulling dual citizenship. On June 1, Turkmenistan officially stopped recognizing foreign education certificates issued after January 1, 1993. The exact number of people to be dismissed due to `incorrect` education certificates is not known yet, but some reports put it at about one-thousand. Most of these people are Russian lawyers and economists working in government- financed organizations.
CIS Forum Gathers In Yerevan To Discuss Economic Cooperation
Turkish Daily News
Yerevan, June 2: The Council of the Heads of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the CIS states discussed priorities for forming integral infrastructure to support small and medium businesses in the CIS countries at its second meeting in Yerevan on Wednesday. `Economic integration in the CIS territory is a major resource for the capitalization of the internal potential of economic organizations of our respective countries,` Martin Sarkisyan, the head of the Armenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said. He stressed the importance of the investment policy, the creation of favourable business environment and an increase in reciprocal turnover.
United States Signs Free Trade Framework With Central Asia
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, June 1: U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick joined representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to sign a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on 1 June, UPI reported the same day. Zoellick said the TIFA, which is intended to provide a forum for various trade issues, will `increase and diversify trade and investment opportunities between the United States and Central Asia.` Central Asian representatives echoed Zoellick`s comments. Interfax-Kazakhstan quoted Kanat Saudabaev, Kazakhstan`s ambassador to the United States, on 2 June as saying that his country is `interested in further expanding the economic realm.` The agreement also sets up a U.S.-Central Asia trade council, AP reported.
Iran, Tajikistan Discuss Joint Ventures
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, June 1: A delegation of industry representatives from Iran concluded a two-day visit to Tajikistan on 1 June, Asia-Plus Blitz reported. The delegation included officials from the Industry Ministry, an automobile company, and a tractor company. Tajik officials told the news agency that meetings focused on the possibility of creating Tajik-Iranian joint ventures to produce tractors and other agricultural equipment, as well as the feasibility of importing Iranian-produced agricultural equipment to Tajikistan. Iranian specialists are to visit Tajikistan in the coming weeks to conduct feasibility studies on joint-venture tractor production.
SCO Security Councils Secretaries To Visit Uzbekistan On 3-4 June
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, June 1: Secretaries of the Security Councils of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries will gather in the Uzbek capital on 3-4 June. The meeting will consider preparation for the summit of SCO heads of states, which will take place on 17 June in Tashkent. The secretaries are expected to discuss situation in the SCO territory and neighbouring regions in view of international and regional security, strengthening of interaction within SCO in fight against new threats and challenges, increasing efficiency of cooperation in combatting terrorism, separatism and extremism. Among the issues to be discussed are also organisation of cooperation in fight against drug trafficking, illegal weapon, ammunition and explosions circulation, contacts with other international organisations and states in fighting new threats.
OSCE Representative Surprised At Tajik Party`s Problems
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, June 1: Bojidar Dimitrov, the head of the OSCE field office in Kulob, Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus Blitz on 1 June that he is `surprised` at the difficulties the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP) is encountering in Khatlon Oblast. A regional branch of the opposition party had hoped to hold a constituent conference in the oblast on 30 May, but problems with local authorities prevented IRP members from gathering. Abdusamad Ghayratov, chairman of the IRP regional branch, told Asia-Plus Blitz that his party acted in accordance with the law; he added that the opposition party faces frequent harassment at the local level.
Kyrgyz President Meets With Saudi Delegation
Radio Free Europe
Bishkek, June 1: President Askar Akaev met on 1 June with a delegation from Saudi Arabia`s Majlis al-Shura, or parliament, akipress.org reported the same day. Majlis chairman Sheikh Bin Abdallah Bin Humayd led the delegation. Akaev and the Saudi legislators discussed economic cooperation. Akaev expressed his condolences to the people of Saudi Arabia in connection with recent terror attacks and invited Saudi crown Prince Abdallah Bin Abd-al-Aziz, to visit Kyrgyzstan. Altai Borubaev, the speaker of Kyrgyzstan`s Assembly of People`s Representatives, also met the Saudis to discuss bilateral cooperation.
Turkmen President Says Uzbeks Want To Stay In Turkmenistan
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, June 1: President Saparmurat Niyazov said on 1 June that ethnic Uzbeks do not want to be repatriated from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan, Turkmen TV reported the next day. Recent negotiations with Uzbekistan have resulted in the transfer of 187 square kilometers from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan. `When we offered local residents a choice between going to Uzbekistan or remaining here and obtaining Turkmen citizenship, no one displayed any desire to go there [to Uzbekistan],` Niyazov said. `Here, they are provided with free gas and electricity.`
US Allocates Aid For Uzbek Judicial Reforms
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, June 1: Foreign Minister Sodiq Safoev and U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jon Purnell signed two cooperation agreements on 1 June for the U.S. government to provide Uzbekistan with $1 million for judicial reforms and improved investigations into drug smuggling and terrorism, Uzbek TV reported the same day. Ambassador Purnell noted that the United States has already provided Uzbekistan with $4 million to implement similar programs and praised the projects for `yielding results.`
President Aliyev Of Azerbaijan Receives Guler
Anadolu Agency
Baku, June 1: President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan received Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler, who is currently paying an official visit to Azerbaijan, on Tuesday. Guler will visit Sengecal Terminal, which considered the beginning point of the Baku-Kbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project. Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources Undersecretary Sami Demirbilek, Turkish Pipeline Transportation Corp (BOTAS) Director General Mehmet Bilgic, Turkish Petroleum Corp. (TPAO) Director General Osman Saim Dinc and Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Unal Cevikoz are accompanying Guler.
Turkmen Embassy Seeks To Calm Diploma Furore
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, June 1: Turkmenistan`s embassy in Russia issued a press release on 1 June to counter reports that Turkmen state employees with foreign diplomas will be dismissed as of 1 June. According to the press release, which was also published on turkmenistan.ru, Russian media have spread `false` reports about the impending dismissals. The press release explains that Turkmenistan`s Ministry of Education will verify and validate diplomas in response to petitions filed by other state employers. The press release criticizes press reports that `damage friendly Turkmen-Russian relations.` ITAR-TASS reported on 1 June that most foreign diplomas held by Turkmen state employees were obtained in Russia and other CIS countries, and more than 650 employees stand to lose their jobs if the diplomas are invalidated. Turkmen Embassy Press Attache Grigorii Kolodin told ITAR-TASS that the `verification of diplomas...is not a move directed in particular against Russia. It is a normal procedure practiced in the majority of countries in the world.`
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Settle Border Demarcation Issues
Itar-Tass
Ashgabat, June 1: Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have settled all the issues pertaining to delimitation and demarcation of their common border, the press service of Turkmenistan`s Foreign Ministry said in a comment on a meeting of the bilateral commission in charge of state border issues. The commission was set up after the signing of a bilateral border delimitation treaty in September 2000. `The sides have no territorial claims against each other,` says a protocol endorsed at the meeting. According to the Foreign Ministry, an area of around 17.87 hectares in the Dashoguz region has fully acquired the status of a Turkmen territory now. During the Soviet era, the area was handed over to Uzbekistan`s economic facilities. The sides also agreed that all the Uzbek citizens living there could now apply for Turkmen citizenship if they wished to.
China, Uzbekistan To Sign Energy Cooperation Document
Xinhuanet
Beijing, June 1: China and Uzbekistan will possibly sign a document on energy cooperation during Chinese President Hu Jintao`s upcoming visit to Uzbekistan, said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui here Tuesday. Chinese President Hu Jintao is to make state visits to Poland, Hungary, Romania and Uzbekistan from June 8 to 18, at the invitation of presidents of the four countries. Li told a press briefing that China and Uzbekistan have great potential and perspective for energy cooperation. Relevant departments of oil of the two countries made long-period research on bilateral energy cooperation and reached consensus that the twosides have great possibility and potential for energy cooperation.
Tajik Deputy Minister Tours Tehran Refinery
Tehran Times
Tehran, June 1: Deputy energy minister of Tajikistan stressed bolstering bilateral cooperation among the two neighbors with regard to energy, especially oil supply. Speaking during a tour of Tehran refinery, Emad-od-din also discussed the situation of CROS project for swapping Central Asian oil through Iran`s oil installation in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, Shahaboddin Metaji, director of operations at Tehran Oil Refining Company declared Iran`s readiness to cooperate with Tajikistan. `We can cooperate for exploiting oil resources, repair and design of oil installations as well as supplying oil products needed by Tajikistan including jet fuel and various lubricants,` he noted.
Turkmenistan Denies Reports Of Dismissing Russian Graduates
Interfax
Ashgabat, June 1: The Turkmen Foreign Ministry has denied media reports claiming there have been mass dismissals of specialists who have certificates from Russian universities and colleges. `These rumors are being deliberately puffed up through the media by our so-called well-wishers, the representatives of the so-called opposition,` a Turkmen Foreign Ministry source told Interfax on Tuesday. The source confirmed that `the decision was made to begin the procedure for recognizing the equivalency of certificates issued by foreign higher education institutions outside the framework of intergovernmental and interagency agreements from January 1, 2003.` `This was done because the CIS countries have seen a surge in the foundation of various commercial institutions issuing certificates, which in fact give no knowledge,` he said.
Kyrgyzstan Protests Uzbek Border
BBC
Bishkek, June 1: The foreign ministry of Kyrgyzstan has protested over what it described as neighbouring Uzbekistan`s attempt to build a border fence. It said the fence would have cut into southern Kyrgyzstan by 60m. The ministry, which sent the note of protest on Friday, said Uzbekistan had stopped construction after a meeting between the two sides. The Uzbek foreign ministry has given no immediate response. Correspondents say the borders between Central Asian nations have only begun to be enforced since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russia, Kazakhstan Agree On 98 per cent Of Mutual Border
Interfax
Astana, May 31: Russia and Kazakhstan held their 19th round of talks on May 24-28 to draw their definitive state borderline. Russian and Kazakh expert groups have agreed on 98 per cent of the border, which is more than 7,000 kilometers long. At this week`s round of talks in Moscow, `the delegations discussed issues concerning sections of the national border that need an additional study of legal, cartographic and other materials,` the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
Askar Kutanov Handed Credentials To Japanese Emperor
Kabar Agency
Bishkek, May 31: The Ambassador of Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of Kyrgyzstan to Japan Askar Kutanov has handed over credentials to Emperor of Japan Akihito in the Emperor`s Palace in Tokyo. In the ceremony, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science of Japan Takeo Kalamura has officially presented government of Japan. According to Japanese tradition, the ambassador of foreign countries should be accompanied by one of the members of ministers` cabinet of Japan. The Ambassador Kutanov arrived to the Palace accompanied by honorable escort in 40 minutes before the beginning of the ceremony. Askar Kutanov was appointed as the Ambassador of Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary of Kyrgyzstan to Japan in April of 2004, and at the end of April, the official opening of the Kyrgyz Embassy in Japan was held with the participation Askar Akaev in Tokyo.
Turkmen President Condoles With Iranian Counterpart On Devastating Quake
IRNA
Ashgabat, May 31: Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov cabled a message on Monday to his Iranian counterpart President Mohammad Khatami, expressing condolences to him on devastating quake in Mazandaran province. The Turkmen people, who have experienced such natural disasters, convey their deepest condolences to the Iranian people on the sad occasion, he said. Expressing sympathy with the bereaved families of victims, Niyazov prayed to God to protect all nations from such disasters in the future.
Georgia FM Leaves For US For Official Visit
Itar-Tass
Tbilisi, May 31: Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili has left for the United States for an official visit on Monday to discuss issues of development of political and economic cooperation. The visit, which will last from June 1 to 3, is paid at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. Salome Zurabishvili will have meetings in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, advisor of the U.S. president on issues of national security Condoleeza Rice and assistant of the U.S. vice-president Victoria Miland, as well as highly placed representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the U.S. Department of State, Itar-Tass learnt at the Georgian Foreign Ministry.
Uzbek Ambassador Presents Credentials To Mongolian President
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, May 31: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to China Nosirjon Yusupov, who holding post of Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Mongolia, presented credentials to the President of Mongolia Natsagiyn Bagandi in Ulan-Batore. The Uzbek envoy and Mongolian leader spoke about perspectives of cooperation between the two countries, Jahon reported. The Mongolian president praised the efforts of Uzbekistan directed at strengthening security and stability in Central Asia and noted close views of Uzbekistan and Mongolia on many regional and international issues.
Russian Vice FM Meets Uzbek Envoy And SCO RATS Head
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, May 31: Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Anatoliy Safonov met Uzbek Ambassador to Russia Bakhtiyor Islamov and director of the executive committee of the Regional Antiterrorism Structure of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO RATS) Vycheslav Qasymov. The sides discussed issues of preparation to SCO heads of state summit, which is to be held in the Uzbek capital on 17 June 2004. They also exchanged opinions on international cooperation in fighting terrorism, as well as improvement of SCO RATS activity and Russia`s participation in this structure.
Chinese President Hu Jintao To Visit Uzbekistan In Mid-June
Uzbek Report
Tashkent, May 29: Chinese President Hu Jintao will make state visits to Poland, Hungary, Romania and Uzbekistan from 8 to 18 June. Hu is to make the tour at the invitation of Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, Hungarian President Madl Ferenc, Romanian President Ion Iliescu, and Uzbekistan`s President Islam Karimov, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.. During the trip, Hu will also attend the Tashkent summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Liu told Xinhua news agency. The forum groups China, Russia and Central Asian republics. Its session is likely to include a bilateral meeting between Hu and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Georgia, South Ossetia Tensions Mount
Associated Press
Tbilisi, June 4: Authorities in South Ossetia blocked a shipment of farm fertilizer from entering the territory Friday, as tensions between the restive region and the Georgian government mounted. The trucks carrying some 100 tons of fertilizer were stopped from entering the village of Tsinagara by police, after South Ossetian authorities declared their opposition to distributing the fertilizer to farmers. The region, located in northern Georgia on the border with Russia, has been de-facto independent since a 1992 truce ended separatist fighting. President Mikhail Saakashvili, who has vowed to peacefully bring South Ossetia and other separatist regions under central government control, briefly sent federal forces into South Ossetia this week, stoking fears of confrontation.
Tbilisi, Tskhinvali Agree Not To Pressure Each Other
Interfax
Tbilisi, June 3: Tbilisi and Tskhinvali have agreed to abstain from putting military and economic pressure on each other, the Russian Embassy in Georgia reported on Thursday. The agreements were reached at a Wednesday meeting of the co- leaders of the Mixed Control Commission for the Georgian-Ossetian Settlement. `The meeting took place against a background of tension. Nevertheless, the sides agreed on the immediate withdrawal of Georgian units recently brought to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone controlled by the collective peacekeeping force and said that it was impermissible to place any uncoordinated posts there in the future,` the ministry report says. The opening of new Georgian checkpoints in the conflict zone triggered tension between Georgia and the non-recognized republic of South Ossetia.
Tajikistan Introduces Death Penalty Moratorium
Radio Free Europe
Dushanbe, June 2: The lower chamber of Tajikistan`s parliament unanimously passed a moratorium on capital punishment on 2 June, Asia Plus-Blitz reported the next day. Speaker Saydullo Hayrulloev told the news agency that the moratorium is retroactive to 30 April 2004, no matter when the upper chamber passes it and the president signs it into law. The draft law not only stays all death sentences handed down after 30 April, but replaces the death penalty with a 25-year prison term. Abdumannon Holikov, deputy chairman of the committee on constitutionality, told Deutsche Welle on 3 June that the moratorium is indefinite; legislators will monitor the moratorium`s effects and, if circumstances warrant, may eventually abolish capital punishment altogether.
Uzbekistan: Officials Welcome Foreign Experts` No-torture Finding
IRIN News
Tashkent, June 1: Uzbek officials have greeted with satisfaction the findings by western forensic experts that there was no evidence of torture in the death of a man earlier reported to have been tortured to death in Uzbek police custody. Ilkhom Zakirov, an Uzbek Foreign Ministry spokesman, told IRIN in the capital Tashkent on Tuesday that the findings by the international experts were important for Uzbekistan in terms of demonstrating transparency, given reports by human rights groups of `so-called torture` in police detention facilities. `The aim of inviting an independent investigative team was to show openness by the Uzbek government towards international cooperation in these type of cases`, said Zakirov. Another police official, the head of the main investigation department of the Internal Affairs Ministry), Alisher Sharafuddinov, told IRIN that they were satisfied with the conclusion of western experts, saying that it proved that transparency would not damage their reputation but help them to be seen as trustworthy. `We are worried by the recent tendency to greet any statement by the Uzbek police with suspicion. Even before this particular case we had discussed with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) conducting independent investigations into these kinds of sad events, and it was one of our strategic objectives,` Sharafuddinov said, adding that 75 policemen were brought to justice in 2003 alone for using torture against detainees or treating them harshly. Western forensic experts invited by the US lobby group Freedom House, after observing the autopsy on the body of Andrei Shelkavenko, announced on Monday that they had found no signs of torture-related injures.
Outside Experts Rule Out Torture In Uzbek Prisoner Death
Radio Free Europe
Tashkent, May 31: An independent panel of international experts told a 31 May news conference in Tashkent that a prisoner who died in police custody on 19 May committed suicide by hanging himself, AP reported the same day (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 28 May 2004). Earlier reports, including a 21 May press release by Human Rights Watch, had suggested that Andrei Shelkovenko perished under torture. The furor led Uzbek authorities to take the unusual step of allowing international experts to attend Shelkovenko`s autopsy. Dr. Michael Pollanen, a forensic pathologist from Canada and visiting medical examiner at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C., and James M. Gannon, deputy chief of the Investigations Bureau at the Morris County Prosecutor`s Office, took part in the investigation.
Former Turkmen Minister A Wanted Man
Radio Free Europe
Ashgabat, May 31: Turkmen authorities are seeking Kakajan Ovezov, former minister of the country`s food industry, `Gazeta` reported on 31 May. Posters bearing a large photograph of Ovezov, his date of birth, and the announcement `Wanted` have been displayed in public places in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat. A court sentenced Ovezov to 10 years` imprisonment in 2002 for accepting a $100,000 bribe; President Saparmurat Niyazov commuted the sentence to forced labor (see `RFE/RL Newsline,` 24 May 2002).
Iran, Uzbekistan To Cooperate In Anti-drug Campaign
IRNA
Tashkent, June 4: Presidential Advisor and Secretary General of Iran`s Drug Control Headquarters (IDCH) met Thursday with Uzbekistan province of Bukhara` Governor General Hosseinov. At the meeting, Hashemi referred to the shared historical ties and cultural commonalties between the two countries, adding `the drug menace is rooted in Afghanistan`s instability.` Afghanistan`s neighboring countries are incurring irreparable damage `specially when considering the drug production in the country has increased from 200 tons to 5,000 tons annually over the last two decades. This situation calls for joint actions by all the regional states to build a security belt around the war-torn country to prevent transfer and transit of illicit drugs from the country, Hashemi underlined. Given that the majority of the narcotics are destined for Europe, it is incumbent upon European countries to join hands with other nations located on the drug route to launch an effective anti-drug campaign in Afghanistan, the drug czar added. He said to combat drug addiction two factors of instilling religious sentiments among youth and strengthening the foundation of family play a vital part. The Bukara governor general alluded to the important visit paid by Iranian President Mohammad Khatami to Tashkent two years ago as having profound effect on bilateral relations including the campaign against drugs trafficking. Hashemi said here Sunday the 54 percent increase in seizure of drugs in the last Iranian year (ended March 19) over the year before is primarily due to increased cultivation in Afghanistan. Despite the presence of western countries in Afghanistan, the production of drugs not only has not reduced, but on the contrary, it has increased, he added. The drug czar said that the increased cultivation bodes ill for smuggling of drugs to other parts of the word, notably Europe. Based on official figures, the police seized over 221 tons of various illicit drugs throughout Iran in the last year and between 90,000 to 100,000 drug addicts were treated during the same period. Iran straddles major international transit routes of drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan, better known as the `Golden Crescent`, on their way to lucrative markets in Europe, the Persian Gulf and Central Asia.
Armenian Nuclear Plant To Stop For Repairs On June 15
Interfax
Yerevan, May 31: Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, which is managed by ZAO Inter RAO UES is to halt operations on June 15, 2004 for maintenance and for fuel to be loaded, plant General Director Garik Markosyan told Interfax. He said that the work will take 65 days, during which major repairs will be carried out to the reactor after the fuel is loaded, and to two turbines in the second power-producing unit. The general director said that this year the U.S. has already paid out $4 million to increase safety at the plant. As regards the European Union, the amount of financial aid will be agreed in Brussels this summer, he said. Markosyan said the plant produced 1.1 billion kWh of electricity from the start of the year until May 30.
Turkmenistan Scrutinizes Diplomats On High Education
Itar-Tass
Ashgabat, June 1: The Turkmen authorities have been scrutinizing diplomas on higher education issued to state officials in Turkmenistan. Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov in his decree of June 1 has decreed invalid diplomas on higher education issued elsewhere than in Turkmenistan until 1993. The decree says that high school graduates who have such diplomas should be dismissed from the state posts. Meanwhile, a source from the Turkmen Education Ministry reported that the majority of the diplomas were issued to graduates of high educational establishments in Russia or the CIS. More than 650 state officials who have such diplomas are expected to be dismissed. At the same time, the owners of the diplomas recognized invalid would be given a chance to re-adjust their diplomas to the requirements on their profession and take a course in Turkmen religion, history, economics and cultural development. The new regulation envisages that graduates who received their diplomas abroad should prove their competence and skills in practical activities.
Kazakh Satellite To Be Launched In December 2005
Kabar Agency
Astana, June 1: Kazakhstan`s geostationary satellite will be launched into space in December 2005, Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov said at a joint session of the houses of parliament on Tuesday. Russia`s Khrunichev research and production center is manufacturing the satellite. The total cost of the project is estimated at 65 million dollars. At present, Kazakhstan pays between 26 million and 28 million dollars a year in satellite rent. `For this reason, our initial spending will be recouped in three years and profits will be produced beginning with the fourth year,` the Kazakh head of government declared. `The launch of the new satellite will mark the beginning of Kazakhstan` s serious program,` said the prime minister who noted that the republic `intends to use its space potential more intensively.` An agreement has been reached that Russia would come up before June 10 with proposals for joint participation in space projects. Kazakhstan `does not intend to remain a mere observer at its Baikonur space center,` Premier Akhmetov stressed.
Special Focus OSCE: Prague Conference Aims To Build Business Climate In Central Asia, Caucasus
OSCE is holding its annual Economic Forum in the Czech capital Prague to help bring together the many ingredients of a successful business climate. The Central Asian states and the South Caucasus republics will be represented, as will the Balkan countries.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/pp052904.shtml Kazakhstan: United States Vs. James H.Giffen
Hearings in the most far-reaching Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case in U.S. history, scheduled to begin in Manhattan on 14 May in United States vs. James H. Giffen, have been delayed until 3 June.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/pp053104.shtml Analysis Of Turkmenistan: Dictator As Clown Grows Stale
And lampooning the great dictator puts a sharp edge on laughter -- if we snigger within his reach, we demonstrate our courage by risking his wrath; if we chortle at a distance, we affirm our freedom to indulge in what his police would leap to prevent others from doing.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp060104.shtml Georgia Uses Carrot And Stick Approach With South Ossetia
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is wielding a stick and extending a carrot to the separatist region of South Ossetia. Georgian leaders say their actions are driven by a determination to eradicate smuggling and corruption.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav060104.shtml Corruption Case Could Alter Kazakhstan`s Energy Export - Import Calculus
A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for June 3 in a bribery case concerning alleged illicit payments by an American merchant banker to top government officials in Kazakhstan. With Kazakhstan preparing for parliamentary elections, the case is fraught with political liability for President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav060204.shtml Bayat: Nothing But Questions
Bayat -- from the Arabic word for an oath of allegiance, an important concept in early Islamic history -- burst onto the scene on April 12, when Tajik prosecutors announced the arrest of 20 people in the northern Isfara district.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp060204.shtml Russia: Yet Another Central Asian State
In an unprecedented step, Moscow has moved to join a purely Central Asian grouping, in an apparent attempt to check Washington`s growing clout in a region of geopolitical competition between the United States and Russia.
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http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/FF03Ag01.html Uzbekistan: Human Rights Watch Acknowledges Erroneous Torture Allegation
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has acknowledged its error in attributing the cause of an Uzbek prisoner`s death to police torture, after a team of international experts concluded that he had hanged himself.
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http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/06/c7346ac8-cef3-418a-80b2-6a24768b02c6.html Yet Another Rose Revolution? Georgia`s `two Brothers` Campaign In South Ossetia
Allegedly as a result of a renegade Russian General`s provocation, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs dispatched a formidable number of troops to four village contraband checkpoints bordering the separatist territories of South Ossetia on 31 May.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2416
A New Silk Road? Tajikistan - China Border Crossing Opens
On May 25, China and Tajikistan officially celebrated the opening of a road link at their remotest border, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the west of China and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast in the east of Tajikistan. This border post will create a route for China through Tajikistan to the heart of Central Asia, Russia the Caspian Sea,and onward.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2417 Europe And The Caucasus: In Search For A Purpose
Ahead of the Dutch presidency of the European Union, expectations have risen that the EU will in mid-June incorporate the South Caucasus into the European Neighborhood Policy. While this move, supported by most member states, the European Commission, and the EU Special Representative to the Region, is likely to generate hope of a larger EU role in the region, the EU`s old problems regarding the South Caucasus have not changed: there is still no national or institutional driving force in the EU for a true strategy towards the region.
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http://www.cacianalyst.org/view_article.php?articleid=2419 To Secure Future, Georgia Banks On Russian Business
Russia`s loss is Georgia`s gain: that`s how Russian President Vladimir Putin`s administration is officially framing the recent appointment of Kakha Bendukidze as Georgian economic minister. At the same time, many analysts in Moscow are casting the move as a `win-win` situation, as Bendukidze is widely expected to encourage the expansion of Georgian-Russian trade.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav060304.shtml Defence Lawyers Argue US Law Does Not Pertain To Kazakhstani Bribery Case
Lawyers for James Giffen, the American merchant banker facing charges of bribing top Kazakhstani government officials, accused the United States of `legal imperialism` during a June 3 pre-trial hearing. US law does not apply to Giffen`s actions since they occurred in Kazakhstan, the banker`s defense team argued.
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http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav060404.shtml
Report dated 4 June 2004