Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
BAKU AND TEHRAN SIGN AGREEMENT ON TV AND RADIO BROADCASTING
On February 3, Azerbaijan’s minister of communications and information technology, Ali Abbasov, and the head of the Iranian State Broadcasting Agency, Ezzatollah Zarghami, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral media cooperation. The document was signed at the end of Zarghami’s four-day visit to... MORE
TAJIKISTAN FORMING LINKS WITH SYRIA
On February 8 Tajikistan’s President Imomali Rakhmonov held bilateral meetings with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Rakhmonov was in Damascus as part of his current tour of the Middle East, which is aimed at encouraging economic relations between Tajikistan and the Arab world. However, his arrival... MORE
BIG BUSINESS IS INVITED TO THE KREMLIN FOR FRESH INSTRUCTIONS
Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s well-established ritual of demonstrating his power to loyal subjects, his annual meeting with business leaders was far heavier on symbolism than on substance. Most of the two dozen CEOs and owners of Russia’s largest companies who were invited to the... MORE
RUSSIA DEVELOPS ELECTRICITY, OIL PARTNERSHIP WITH CHINA
On Friday, February 9, the board of Unified Energy System, Russia’s power grid operator, approved a blueprint for large-scale electricity exports to China. UES is reportedly planning to increase electricity supplies to Northeastern China up to 3.6-4.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) from 2008 on. In the... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN DOWNPLAYS POLITICAL RISKS OF ENERGY CORRIDOR TO EUROPE
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s February 2 visit to Ukraine appeared to be an ill-timed event that triggered controversial speculations in light of the recent gas row between Belarus and Russia and the lingering standoff between Moscow and Kyiv on energy issues. But under the circumstances,... MORE
TURKMEN ELECTION PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY FOR INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OF AUTHORITARIAN REGIME
As foreign observers gear up to monitor Sunday’s presidential elections in Turkmenistan, the first since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, more adventurous foreigners can catch a bus from Ashgabat and journey some 40 miles north of the capital into the Karakum desert, where... MORE
YUSHCHENKO, YANUKOVYCH LOCK HORNS OVER CABINET LAW
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and the ruling coalition in Kyiv have failed to find a compromise over the “Law on the Cabinet of Ministers.” The law is meant to complement the constitution, more clearly defining the remits of the president, the cabinet, and parliament; at... MORE
KARS-TBILISI-BAKU RAILROAD: AZERBAIJAN AS LOCOMOTIVE OF REGIONAL PROJECTS
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyp Erdohan witnessed on February 7 in Tbilisi the signing of a tripartite agreement to launch construction work this year on the railroad connecting their countries. The presidents signed a declaration on... MORE
BAKIYEV’S NEW GOVERNMENT FOSTERS LARGE-SCALE CORRUPTION
Kyrgyzstan’s recently appointed Prime Minister Azim Isabekov formed a new government this week. The changes made by Isabekov suggest that he largely followed directions from Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and his deputies. The new government excludes some former popular political leaders and increases the powers... MORE
TOLERANCE REDUCES NEED FOR RUSSIAN LANGUAGE LAW IN UKRAINE
Although Ukraine’s Party of Regions introduced a new draft language law to parliament last fall, interest in the bill will decline following the unexpected death of key party ideologue Yevhen Kushnariov last month. Elevating Russian to an official or second state language requires a change... MORE