Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
INFIGHTING AMONG PUTIN’S SILOVIKI ESCALATES TO A “CLAN WAR”
Nothing has been left to chance in the latest, tightly controlled script for reformatting the political arena in Russia. Generously granting his consent to join the electoral list of the dominant United Russia party, President Vladimir Putin appeared to have reduced the uncertainty surrounding the... MORE
KREMLIN’S CANDIDATE BIDS FOR PACE PRESIDENCY
Mikhail Margelov, a politician close to the Kremlin and prominent in the United Russia party of power, is set to take over the presidency of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), the leading democracy and human-rights watchdog in Europe. An inside arrangement shepherded by... MORE
AZERBAIJAN’S GROWING ECONOMIC CAPACITY HAS YET TO AFFECT KARABAKH RESOLUTION
On September 4 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the national budget of the country in 2008 would reach $12 billion (Day.az, September 4). Just three years ago, the budget totaled only $4 billion. Aliyev’s announcement was no surprise to the domestic audience, since the... MORE
PKK INTENSIFIES PRESSURE AS TURKEY PONDERS CROSS-BORDER OPERATION
As the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) prepares to present a motion to parliament authorizing the deployment of Turkish troops in a cross-border military operation against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) camps in northern Iraq, the organization is stepping up the pressure inside Turkey. On... MORE
OPPOSITION PREPARES FOR EUROPEAN MARCH
On Sunday, October 14, the United Democratic Forces of Belarus plan to hold a “European March” in central Minsk, which they hope might lead to a dialogue with the regime of President Alexander Lukashenka and ultimately start Belarus on a democratic path toward European Union... MORE
DUSHANBE SUMMITS FOLLOW RUSSIAN AGENDA
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is pleased with the success of the “triple summit” of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc) last week in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and he described them as “most fruitful”... MORE
CAN TYMOSHENKO LIVE WITH A GRAND COALITION?
Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko’s hopes to become prime minister may be dashed. President Viktor Yushchenko wants to invite the Party of Regions (PRU), led by her archrival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, to join a new Cabinet of Ministers. If the PRU, which will have more... MORE
TURKEY PREPARES FOR CROSS-BORDER MILITARY OPERATION
Over the next few days the Turkish parliament is expected to approval a motion authorizing a cross-border military operation into northern Iraq to strike at camps belonging to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Qandil Mountains. On October 9, a three and one-half hour... MORE
RUSSIAN GENERAL IMPLICATED IN NARCOTICS STING
On October 2 Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) carried out what initially appeared to be a routine arrest of a suspect connected with corruption in a counter-narcotics trafficking agency. However, the arrest of Lieutenant-General Alexander Bulbov, a department head in the Federal Service for Control... MORE
“ACTION FOR ACTION” ON THE CFE TREATY: OPPORTUNITY AND RISKS
Delegations from 30 countries signatory to the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) held an emergency brainstorming session on October 1-2 near Berlin amid Russian threats to abandon the treaty imminently. Discussions are continuing in Vienna. With NATO unity less than ironclad on how... MORE