Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
GATES VISITS BISHKEK, BUT PRO-MOSCOW MOOD PREVAILS IN KYRGYZSTAN
On June 5 U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited Kyrgyzstan to discuss the status of the U.S. military base in Bishkek with Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Kyrgyz Minister of Defense Ismail Isakov. In the past, treating the Kyrgyz-U.S. military cooperation as an important... MORE
KREMLIN, ABKHAZ, SOUTH OSSETIAN LEADERS DELIBERATELY AMBIVALENT ABOUT KOSOVO
Moscow is redoubling its rhetorical support for Serbia over Kosovo, ostensibly on the basis of the territorial-integrity principle, while backing its Abkhaz and South Ossetian protégés on the basis of the self-determination principle (as Moscow construes it). Russian President Vladimir Putin leads the charge on... MORE
RUSSIA STILL SEES WEST AS PRIMARY ENEMY
During an extended interview with Western and Russian journalists before this week’s G-8 summit in Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that if U.S. missile defense elements are deployed in Europe, "We will be forced to take adequate steps in response." Putin elaborated: "New targets... MORE
IS UKRAINIAN INTERIOR MINISTER SICK OR HIDING?
Interior Minister Vasyl Tsushko has left Ukraine for medical treatment in Germany. President Viktor Yushchenko had accused him of breaking the law when Tsushko ordered riot police to storm the Prosecutor-General’s Office (PGO) on May 24, at the height of a political crisis caused by... MORE
RUSSIAN OIL PIPELINE SHUTOFF TO LITHUANIA: WIDER RAMIFICATIONS
Moscow’s closure of the oil pipeline to Lithuania in July 2006 “looked, sounded, and felt” (see EDM, August 3, 18, 2006) like political and economic retaliation against the privatization of Lithuania’s Mazeikiai refinery by Poland’s PKN Orlen, which had prevented a Russian takeover The Russian... MORE
CASPIAN ENERGY PROJECTS: “TIME TO ADVANCE FROM TALKING TO ACTING”
Russia’s monopolistic agreements on energy transit, signed in rapid succession with three Central Asian countries and Austria (see EDM, May 14, 16, 17, 29, 31) sent yet another wake-up call in Washington, sending U.S. officials urgently to assess the situation in the Caspian region. The... MORE
TURKEY EXPANDS ROLE IN KOSOVO AS BUSH PREPARES TO VISIT ALBANIA
Today, June 5, Turkish NATO forces in Kosovo assume a one-year command of NATO’s Multinational Task Force South (MNTF-S), one of NATO’s five regional commands of Kosovo Force (KFOR), responsible for establishing and maintaining security in the disaffected Serbian province. NATO peacekeepers have been deployed... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN HOSTS SCO ANTI-TERRORIST EXERCISES
Kyrgyzstan hosted joint command and staff exercises of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) May 29-31. “Issyk Kul Anti-Terror-2007” included elements from the regional anti-terror structure, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Commonwealth of Independent States anti-terror center, alongside security agencies and special services from Kyrgyzstan,... MORE
ANTI-AMERICANISM IN PUTIN’S EUROPEAN MANEUVERING
Russian President Vladimir Putin has pursued a rather unconventional strategy preparing for the G-8 summit to be held in Heiligendamm, Germany, later this week. He held a series of meetings with the leaders of smaller European states that prefer to stay clear of the quarrels... MORE
PREPARATIONS FOR SCO SUMMIT AFFECT KYRGYZSTAN’S RELATIONS WITH THE U.S.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conducted anti-terrorism training exercises in Kyrgyzstan May 28-31. The Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is observing the SCO drills. Both the SCO and CSTO have overlapping memberships and competing goals. However, their interests meet in Kyrgyzstan, where they compete... MORE