Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
NAZARBAYEV DISSOLVES MAJILIS, CALLS SNAP ELECTION
On June 20, speaking to parliamentary faction of his Nur Otan party, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he had decided to dissolve the lower chamber of parliament, the Majilis. In an unprecedented move, one day before that decision, 61 members of the Majilis had petitioned... MORE
IS MOLDOVA’S PRESIDENT DROPPING THE EUROPEAN BANNER?
President Vladimir Voronin gathered the chiefs of diplomatic missions accredited in Moldova on June 28 for a briefing on his recent and upcoming negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Moldpres, June 28). Stung by criticism of his non-transparent meetings with Putin and back-channel negotiations with... MORE
FOR SERBS IN KOSOVO, NATO GOES FROM VILLAIN TO PROTECTOR
In one of history’s more recent ironies, during a June 27 meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic asked NATO to protect minority Serbs in Serbia’s increasingly autonomous Kosovo province. Jeremic said, “Regardless of political and diplomatic developments, maintaining... MORE
SCO’S INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE SURGES AS IRAN, TURKMENISTAN WISH TO JOIN
On Monday, June 25 Iran, Mongolia, and Turkmenistan confirmed their participation at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit scheduled for August 16 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The presidents of all three countries – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nambaryn Enkhbayar, and Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov – will attend as distinguished... MORE
ESTONIAN PRESIDENT’S U.S. VISIT REFLECTS A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
U.S. President George W. Bush received Estonian President Toomas Ilves for a two-hour meeting at the White House on June 25, a high point of Ilves’ June 24-27 visit to the United States. Bush had paid a visit to Estonia as recently as November 2006,... MORE
YUSHCHENKO STARTS ELECTION CAMPAIGN FOR HIS PARTY
There is no unity among the supporters of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, with just three months to go before early parliamentary elections, scheduled for September 30. His strongest ally, Yulia Tymoshenko, will contest the election separately. The talks between his own party Our Ukraine (NU)... MORE
SECURITY OFFICIALS KIDNAP ALLEGED “WAHHABIS” IN DAGESTAN
Two recent conferences provide markedly different views on the situation in Dagestan. While the local government blames Islamic fundamentalism, human rights activists decry human rights violations. While Makhachkala’s leaders preach religious tolerance, law-enforcement officials carry out kidnappings, torture, and executions. On June 6 the government... MORE
SOUTH OSSETIAN LEADER CHOOSES EUROPE
Dmitry Sanakoyev, leader of the Tbilisi-backed provisional administrative unit in South Ossetia, visited Brussels on June 24-26 for informal introductory talks with representatives of European institutions, diplomatic missions, and think tanks and a speech in the European Parliament. Invited to Brussels by the European Union-Georgia... MORE
KREMLIN REJECTS “FOREIGN” APPROACH TO RUSSIAN HISTORY
Last week President Vladimir Putin met with a selected group of delegates attending a Kremlin-organized conference, “Timely Issues in Teaching Modern History and Social Science.” Putin told the teachers: “Many school books are written by people who work to get foreign grants. They dance to... MORE
GABALA PLAN SHOT DOWN BY TEHRAN, MOSCOW’S STRATEGIC PARTNER
Although several Russian press commentaries have claimed that President Vladimir Putin’s proposal that the United States and Russia jointly establish a radar base at Gabala, Azerbaijan, has somehow shaken up Washington and NATO, this appears to be wishful thinking (RIA-Novosti, June 14; Kommersant, June 9).... MORE