Latest Articles about Central Asia
WITH KULOV GONE, BAKIYEV DUMPS HIPC INITIATIVE
On February 20 the Kyrgyz government unanimously rejected participation in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, founded by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in 1996. This decision followed almost a year of negotiations between the Kyrgyz government and the international community.... MORE
UZBEK GAS OUTPUT, EXPORT SET TO GROW UNDER RUSSIAN MONOPOLY CONTROL
On February 19, Gazprom’s subsidiary office in Tashkent announced that Uzbekistan will deliver 13 billion cubic meters of gas to Russia in 2007, up from 9 billion cubic meters in 2006. Russia is the sole export destination for Uzbek gas. Under the contract for 2007,... MORE
Kyrgyzstan’s Manas Airbase: A Key Asset in the War on Terrorism
The collapse of communism in the USSR in 1991 and the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States a decade later offered the Pentagon basing possibilities impossible even to conceive of during the Cold War. The chief beneficiaries were Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, which were... MORE
PUTIN SEEKS CLOSER TIES WITH TURKMENISTAN
The election of Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov as Turkmenistan’s new president, widely expected since he became acting president after the death of Saparmurat Niyazov in December, has already witnessed diplomatic overtures by a number of countries keen to develop closer ties with Turkmenistan. Russian President Vladimir Putin,... MORE
POTENTIAL GAS CUSTOMERS LINE UP TO WELCOME NEW TURKMEN LEADER
Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov was inaugurated as Turkmenistan’s new president at the Ruhiyev palace in Ashgabat on February 14. Reporters noted that 2,487 members of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) and foreign guests, including heads of states and governments from 30 countries, attended the ceremony. The Russian... MORE
KULOV JOINS KYRGYZ OPPOSITION, BUT CAN HE BEAT BAKIYEV?
At a February 14 press conference, former Kyrgyz prime minister Felix Kulov announced his decision to join the forces opposed to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Following the Kyrgyz government’s December 2006 resignation, Kulov’s move was predictable. However, many people doubt his ability to lead the opposition... 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
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
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