3 July to 10 July 2010

Azerbaijan


Political Front



Geo Strategic Front

• Clinton Urged To Recognize Armenian 'Genocide,' Karabakh Self-Determination



YEREVAN -- A leading Armenian-American group is urging U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as genocide and end "pressure" on Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during her upcoming visit to Yerevan, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

• Clinton Seeks To Restart Talks Between Azerbaijan, Armenia

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (left) shakes hands with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during their meeting in Baku today. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has visited Azerbaijan to seek a restart of peace talks over Nagorno-Karabakh, repair frayed bilateral ties, and press the oil-rich Caucasus nation on human rights.

• Azerbaijan Says No New Karabakh Peace Proposals

Presidents Dmitry Medvedev of Russia (center), Serzh Sarkisian of Armenia (right), and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan meet in St. Petersburg on June 17.

YEREVAN -- Azerbaijan has denied Armenian claims that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev presented his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts with a new international plan last month to resolve the conflict over the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

Economic /Energy Front



Social Front

• Jailed Azerbaijani Journalist Addresses Court Ahead Of Verdict

Imprisoned newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev delivered a three-hour speech in his last hearing before the judges issue a verdict on his drug case, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.

Kazakastan

Political Front

• Interview: Bhavna Dave On Kazakhstan's 'Leader Of The Nation'

On July 6, Kazakhstan celebrated two important anniversaries -- 12 years since the capital was moved to Astana, and President Nursultan Nazarbaev's 70th birthday.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, Bhavna Dave, a reader at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London, shared her thoughts about political processes in Kazakhstan and its "Leader of the Nation," Nazarbaev.

Geo Strategic Front

• Russian-Kazakh-Belarusian Customs Union Comes Into Effect

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says a customs union joining Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus has come into effect after the presidents of the three countries signed documents today.

Economic /Energy Front

• Russia to lend Kazakhstan $700 million for power plant

Russia will lend Kazakhstan $700 million to build the third unit of the Ekibastuz GRES-2 power plant, according to a loan agreement signed on Monday by the countries’ presidents on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) session in Astana, RIA Novosti reported.

• Kazakhstan, Russia Sign Energy Deals

Russia and Kazakhstan have signed agreements on cooperation in civilian nuclear power and hydropower projects in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

State companies Rosatom and Kazatomprom signed an agreement on use of an existing uranium-enrichment facility at Novouralsk in Russia rather than construction of a new facility.

Social Front



Kyrgyzstan

Political Front

• Kyrgyzstan Names New Interior Minister

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva has named Kubat Baibolov as the country's new interior minister, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Otunbaeva issued a decree on July 7 naming former opposition politician Baibolov to replace Bolot Sher, who had been acting interior minister since President Kurmanbek Bakiev was ousted in early April. Sher, who is a deputy leader of the Fatherland (Ata-Meken) party, said he had asked to be relieved of his post.

• Kyrgyz Leader Warns Of Risk Of Further Violence

Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva has warned that the risk of further unrest in the Central Asian country remains. Otunbaeva told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that "at the moment the situation is relatively calm but there may be other outbursts" of violence.

• Osh Protesters Want International Oversight Of Kyrgyz Forces

OSH, Kyrgyzstan -- Some 200 protesters in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh held a protest calling for the "internationalization" of the Kyrgyz army and law enforcement agencies, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

• Rising Nationalism Threatens Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK -- One thing is clear from the testimony of witnesses of the ethnic violence that killed hundreds and possibly thousands of people in Kyrgyzstan last month: most of the victims were from the ethnic Uzbek minority.

Geo Strategic Front

• Tajikistan Hands Over Two Terrorist Suspects To Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK -- A Kyrgyz police official says two men detained by Tajik law enforcement officials and returned to Kyrgyzstan are members of terrorist groups, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

• Kyrgyz Official Says OSCE Police Mission Would Be Ineffective

BISHKEK -- Acting Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov says the deployment of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) police mission in the southern part of the country would be ineffective, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

• European Parliament To Discuss Situation In Kyrgyzstan

Catherine Ashton, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said parliamentarians would consider the recent referendum in Kyrgyzstan that moved the constitution toward a parliamentary, rather than a presidential, sy Economic /Energy Front

• Kyrgyz Politican Says Entry Into New Customs Union Needed

BISHKEK -- A Kyrgyz politician says the country's World Trade Organization (WTO) membership would not hinder Kyrgyzstan from joining the Russian- Kazakh-Belarusian customs union, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

• Kyrgyz Officials Put Cost Of Violence At $71 Million

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz officials say recent ethnic violence in the south of the country caused some $71 million worth of damage, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Mukambet Kasymaliev told a press conference in Osh on July 9 that the final figure may be higher.

Social Front



Tajikistan

Political Front

• Tajik Court Reopens Case Against Jehovah's Witnesses

KHUJAND, Tajikistan -- A Tajik justice official says a criminal case has been reopened against 17 Jehovah's Witnesses for fomenting religious hatred, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

• Slain Tajik Minister's Sons 'Jailed Over Antigovernment Plot'

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan's Supreme Court has reportedly sentenced two sons of slain Emergency Situations Minister Mirzo Ziyoev to prison terms of up to 30 years, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

Geo Strategic Front

• Is Russia Considering Returning To The Afghan Border?

Viktor Ivanov, the head of Russia's Federal Drug Control Service, was in Tajikistan at the start of July and made a curious remark.

• Tajikistan Hands Over Two Terrorist Suspects To Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK -- A Kyrgyz police official says two men detained by Tajik law enforcement officials and returned to Kyrgyzstan are members of terrorist groups, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Economic /Energy Front

• Tajik Air Flights Delayed Over Fuel-Debt Dispute

DUSHANBE -- Flights by the state airline Tajik Air from Dushanbe to various domestic and Russian destinations were delayed for more than 10 hours on July 8 because the company that provides gas refused to refuel Tajik Air's planes, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports. Dushanbe International Airport spokesman Mahmadyusuf Shodiev told RFE/RL the delay was due to Tajik Air's debt to the fuel provider, and that flights were resumed after talks were held on the problem.

Social Front

• Tajik World Heritage Nomination Coming Up For Review

Tajikistan may soon be celebrating its first inclusion on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. The Tajik National Park, which encompasses some of the most outstanding natural features of the Pamir Mountain Range, will be considered for inclusion along with 31 other newly nominated sites when the World Heritage Committee meets late this month in Brazil.

Turkmenistan

Political Front

• UN representatives visit Turkmenistan's Central Electoral Commission

Officer for Political and Electoral Affairs of the Department of Political Affairs of the UN Secretariat, Ms Elizabeth Moorthy, and Senior adviser on electoral issues at UNDP headquarters, Ms Linda Maguire, held talks at the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda during their visit to Turkmenistan. According to the official report, the sides discussed issues relating to the further development of relations between Turkmenistan and the United Nations in the context of legal reform implemented in the country.

• President of Turkmenistan holds field meeting of Security Council

On July 2, the President of Turkmenistan, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the country, Army General Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held a field meeting of the State Security Council at his military residence. During the meeting he familiarized himself with the modernization of facilities and equipment of the national army, in particular the specimens of new special machinery.

Geo Strategic Front

• European Training Foundation expands cooperation with Turkmenistan

A delegation of specialists of the European Training Foundation (ETF) arrived in Ashgabat. As part of their stay in the Turkmen capital, representatives of the ETF held talks at the ministries of education, economics and development, finance, and the Institute of Strategic Planning and Economic Development and the State Committee for Statistics of Turkmenistan. During the talks, the sides discussed issues relating to the further expansion of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the ETF in the sphere of education.

Economic /Energy Front

• Russian Duma ratifies agreement on Mutual Protection of Investments with Turkmenistan

The State Duma of the Russian Federation passed the law "On ratification of Agreement between the Government of Russia and the Government of Turkmenistan on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments" at its meeting last Friday. According to Interfax, the document was signed in Moscow on 25 March 2009 "to promote and develop mutually beneficial trade and economic, scientific and technical cooperation by creating an enabling environment for investments."

Social Front

• Turkmenistan to publish "Big Turkmen-Russian dictionary" in two volumes

In 2010, the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan is to publish the two-volume "Dictionary of the Turkmen language", the books "Elaborate vocabulary of the Turkmen language" and "Tasks of literature". At the moment, the Academy is preparing to publish "Big Turkmen-Russian dictionary" in two volumes, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan (TDH) reports.