Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
UKRAINE’S DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN PROSPECTS FOR 2007
Ukraine’s domestic and foreign prospects in 2007 depend upon the resolution of the political and constitutional crisis that began in 2006. Failure to resolve this ongoing crisis will lead to stagnation and a possible retreat from some of the gains of the Orange Revolution (see... MORE
OIL SUPPLY CUTOFF TO BELARUS AND EUROPE SHAKES RUSSIA’S REPUTATION FOR RELIABILITY
Conclusive evidence emerged on January 9 that Russia halted oil exports to European Union countries via Belarus during the night of January 7-8. Moscow seeks to force Belarus to accept Russian-imposed terms for oil supplies to Belarus itself as well as for the transit of... MORE
PRESIDENTIAL WHIMS AT ROOT OF RUSSIA-BELARUS OIL DISPUTE
Last month's acute conflict between Moscow and Minsk over natural gas prices has carried into the New Year as an oil-pricing dispute. This week the transport of oil through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline system from Russia to Europe has been disrupted (see EDM, January 8,... MORE
YUSHCHENKO FACES NATO REFERENDUM PROBLEM
Signatures have been collected in Ukraine in favor of holding a referendum on membership in NATO and the Single Economic Space -- a loose economic union with Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has confirmed that the signatures are valid. Pro-Western President... MORE
RUSSIA-BELARUS STANDOFF MAY BEGIN AFFECTING OIL TRANSIT TO EUROPE
Deliveries of Russian oil via Belarus to points West suffered several brief interruptions during January 5 through 8, causing a slight decrease in the volumes scheduled for delivery to Poland and Germany. The problem has arisen following Minsk’s introduction of a transit charge for Russian... MORE
ARREST OF ARMENIAN “COUP PLOTTERS” RAISES QUESTIONS
Armenian authorities claim to have thwarted a coup d’etat that was allegedly planned by hard-line nationalists opposed to major concessions to Azerbaijan in the conflict over Karabakh. Two prominent veterans of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war were controversially arrested last month and now look set to stand... MORE
AMID MOUNTING CRITICISM IN KAZAKHSTAN, BEIJING AND ASTANA SEAL NEW DEALS
On December 23 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev wrapped up his first three-day visit to Beijing since his reelection in December 2005. The trip, characterized as “a breakthrough” in bilateral relations by the official mouthpiece Kazakhstanskaya pravda, was marked by series of landmark agreements aimed at... MORE
BELARUS TRANSIT TAX RETALIATES TO RUSSIAN CUSTOMS TAX ON OIL EXPORTS
Effective January 1, the Russian government introduced an export duty of $181 per ton of crude oil delivered to Belarus. Those deliveries had been duty-free until now. Signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov on December 8, 2006, the decision places oil deliveries to Belarus under... MORE
MOSCOW INTRODUCES NEW ECONOMIC INCENTIVES FOR OIL DEVELOPMENT IN EASTERN SIBERIA
As Transneft, Russia's crude oil pipeline monopoly, rushes to build the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, Moscow has introduced additional economic incentives for oil companies to boost crude output and develop new deposits in eastern Siberia. Now Russia pumps a mere one million tons of crude... MORE
U.S. SANCTIONS ROSOBORONEKSPORT OVER DEALS WITH IRAN
Russia is still mostly closed for business because of the extended Christmas holidays, but more bad news on its international standing is hardly a welcome gift. On January 6 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lashed out regarding new sanctions imposed by the United States against... MORE