Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
PUTIN DOWNPLAYS ENERGY DIALOGUE IN PARIS
Russian President Vladimir Putin resumed his European engagements last week, traveling to Budapest and Paris; he also plans a sentimental trip to Dresden in mid-October. The atmosphere at the meetings, however, was not exactly cordial, with French President Jacques Chirac assuming a rather reserved tone... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS CLOSER MILITARY LINKS WITH UZBEKISTAN
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has hailed defense links between Moscow and Tashkent, saying that recent decisions made by the presidents of Russia and Uzbekistan have helped develop military cooperation "successfully." He also praised a bilateral anti-terrorism drill in Russia's Krasnodar region and stated that... MORE
KARIMOV PRIORITIZES RUSSIAN ARMAMENTS
Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov has prioritized procuring Russian armaments, not only to further the reform and modernization of the Uzbek armed forces, but also to strengthen Tashkent’s security response to the threat of terrorism. Karimov is using the new sense of cooperation in bilateral relations... MORE
ESTONIA: WHY NOT THE BEST?
Estonia’s presidential election tomorrow, September 23, involves more than just a choice between Arnold Ruutel and Toomas Hendrik Ilves. In a more profound sense, this election can decide whether or not a third man, Center Party leader Edgar Savisaar, becomes Estonia’s political and business king-maker... MORE
RUSSIAN PUNDITS WARY OF ANKARA’S REVIVED GEOPOLITICAL AMBITIONS IN EURASIA
The suggestion to form a Turkish commonwealth among Turkic-speaking countries voiced at the recent gathering of leaders of Turkic states in Turkey’s seaside resort city of Antalya appears to reflect Ankara’s desire to strengthen its economic and political positions in Eurasia. Moscow should not treat... MORE
INDIAN STEEL TYCOON FACES NEW WAVE OF PROTESTS IN KAZAKHSTAN
Initial reports say at least 32 miners were killed by a methane gas explosion in the Lenin coal mine, near the town of Shakhtinsk in Central Kazakhstan’s Qaraghandy region. The incident, the latest in a long string of mining accidents in coal mines owned by... MORE
PUTIN-GYURCSANY MEETING STEERS HUNGARY’S GOVERNMENT ON THE “THIRD PATH”
Hungary’s crisis-plagued government under Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany seems to have embarked on a “third-path” course between the institutional West, where Hungary belongs, and Russia toward which Gyurcsany and his closest associates seem increasingly to gravitate. The concept of a “Third Path” (Harmadik Ut) between... MORE
CORRUPTION IN PUTIN’S SYSTEM BECOMES MURDEROUS
The first week after the September 13 murder of Andrei Kozlov, first deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank, saw no breaks in the case. Investigators are still examining a range of possible options and do not have a single suspect. The 41-year old official... MORE
TRADE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA SLOWS DOWN
The Kremlin has repeatedly pledged to boost Russia’s economic ties with China. Recent statistics indicate that bilateral trade is rising, but at a rate slower than previously expected. In the first eight months of 2006, bilateral trade between Russia and China was up 20% year-on-year,... MORE
KIRIYENKO INSISTS BUSHEHR PLANT WILL BE OPERATIONAL BY SEPTEMBER 2007
On Monday September 18, the chief of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), Sergei Kiriyenko, told reporters in Vienna that Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power reactor will be operational by September 2007 and is scheduled to begin producing commercial electric power in November 2007. Kiriyenko also... MORE