Central Asia
US trying new track on Nabucco project
03.02.2010.
The United States wants to "depoliticize" the proposed Nabucco pipeline project, and might welcome Russia’s participation in the pipeline, Washington’s Eurasian energy envoy, Richard Morningstar, recently announced. The Kremlin, however, is likely to interpret this outwardly magnanimous gesture as a sign of Nabucco’s weakness, some experts say.More ...
US exploring new routes to Afghanistan
02.02.2010.
The United States is exploring the idea of expanding the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a supply line for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, by adding a Chinese branch. Sources familiar with the NDN tell EurasiaNet that US officials are also considering the possibility of seeking a sea-and-land route utilizing ports in the Russian Far East.More ...
Extremism in Central Asia
25.01.2010.
The documentary on extremism in Central Asia by Michael Andersen:
Islam Karimov & Co are the ones radicalising Central Asia
18.01.2010.
From Wednesday 20 January, and for the next week, the television channel Aljazeera English is showing his film ’(The Myth of) Religious Extremism in Central Asia’. Fergana.ru interviews Michael Andersen about his project.
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Strategic Assessment of the Caspian Sea Basin Region
04.12.2009.
On May 7 and 8, the Brookings Energy Security Initiative (ESI) and the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) co-hosted a conference entitled "Strategic Assessment of the Caspian Sea Basin Region".More ...
Central Asia’s electricity system falls apart
02.12.2009.
Four of the five Central Asian countries have muddled along with an often unsatisfactory, yet workable, shared electricity system that was devised after the break-up of the Soviet Union. This year, however, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have finally been provoked into announcing their withdrawal from the shared grid.More ...
Congress Caucus on Central Asia
30.11.2009.
Nothing highlights the growing importance of Central Asia in Washington more than the formation of a congressional caucus.More ...
Ambassador of conscience: Interview with Craig Murray
08.10.2009.
In 2002, Craig Murray, British ambassador to Uzbekistan, encountered something that he would describe as the real evil: the brutal campaign of torture and repression by the Islam Karimov regime. Later, in an interview with the Guardian, Murray described his encounters with victims of torture in Tashkent: “People come to me very often after being tortured. Normally this includes homosexual and heterosexual rape of close relatives in front of the victim; rape with objects such as broken bottles; asphyxiation; pulling out of fingernails; smashing of limbs with blunt objects; and use of boiling liquids including complete immersion of the body. This is not uncommon. Thousands of people a year suffer from this torture at the hands of the authorities.”
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U.S. OSCE official says dialogue best way to spread democracy
07.10.2009.
Michael Haltzel, a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, heads the U.S. delegation at the OSCE's "Human Dimension" workshop taking place in Warsaw on September 28-29. In an interview with RFE/RL correspondent Ahto Lobjakas, he says engagement remains the best way to tackle difficult regimes. He also says he hopes to see gradual progress in those post-Soviet nations where human rights abuses remain regular and democratic standards have yet to take root. More ...
German election could unlock Caspian
24.09.2009.
While Western Europe seems bored by the German election, it is being closely watched in the Caspian region. For the countries sitting on the massive energy potential of the Caspian Sea, Sunday's outcome is of vital importance.
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More ...Pentagon plans for deployment of special force to states outside Afghanistan
18.09.2009.
The US military is preparing for a worst-case scenario in Central Asia. The Pentagon is presently developing plans covering the potential deployment of elite Special Forces to Central Asian states other than Afghanistan.More ...
Central Asian experts discuss regional water issues in Almaty
27.08.2009.
On August 27 Almaty is hosting the session of working group for the development of regional agreement under "Facilitation of partnership for dam security in Central Asia" project, funded by European economic commission of UN (EEC), Asia-plus reports.More ...
EUCAM Policy Brief No. 7
16.06.2009.
Central Asia and the Global Economic Crisis, EUCAM Policy Brief No. 7, June 2009
In 2007 the EU published a Strategy for a New Partnership with Central Asia. In its initial stages the EU focused on developing new forums for dialogue with the Central Asian countries, and received some criticism for inadequate substantive actions. This Policy Brief argues that the current global economic crisis does not alter the priorities of the EU Strategy, but it does require the EU to stick to existing obligations and also provides an opportunity for fresh initiatives to better achieve the Strategy’s fundamental goals.
This EUCAM Policy Brief is part of a mini-series of three publications on the impact of the global slowdown on Central Asia and its relations with the European Union.
Download the Policy Brief
In 2007 the EU published a Strategy for a New Partnership with Central Asia. In its initial stages the EU focused on developing new forums for dialogue with the Central Asian countries, and received some criticism for inadequate substantive actions. This Policy Brief argues that the current global economic crisis does not alter the priorities of the EU Strategy, but it does require the EU to stick to existing obligations and also provides an opportunity for fresh initiatives to better achieve the Strategy’s fundamental goals.
This EUCAM Policy Brief is part of a mini-series of three publications on the impact of the global slowdown on Central Asia and its relations with the European Union.
Download the Policy Brief
EUCAM Policy Brief No. 6
15.06.2009.
The EU's approach to the development of mass media in Central Asia, EUCAM Policy Brief No. 6, June 2009
In spite of positive developments in terms of human rights, the rule of law and democratisation in Central Asia following the adoption of the European Union (EU) Strategy for Central Asia in June 2007, the state of the mass media continues to deteriorate in all five countries in the region.
This policy brief identifies tendencies and problems affecting the development of free media outlets in Central Asia and proposes ways and means through which the EU could engage to improve the situation.
Download the Policy Brief
In spite of positive developments in terms of human rights, the rule of law and democratisation in Central Asia following the adoption of the European Union (EU) Strategy for Central Asia in June 2007, the state of the mass media continues to deteriorate in all five countries in the region.
This policy brief identifies tendencies and problems affecting the development of free media outlets in Central Asia and proposes ways and means through which the EU could engage to improve the situation.
Download the Policy Brief
Central Asian gas: An opportunity Europe seems determined to miss
02.06.2009.
If ever there was a time for the European Union to cut the Gordian knot of energy dependence on Russia -- or, more precisely, cut out the Russian middleman currently controlling supply routes from the Caspian Sea region -- it is now.More ...
Russia to clinch deals to hasten Europe gas link
15.05.2009.
Russia aims to speed up the new South Stream gas link to Europe by signing deals with transit states, and has rebuked the United States and former Soviet satellite states for backing a rival project.More ...
EU agrees deal on energy
08.05.2009.
The European Union has agreed on joint goals with supplier and transit states at talks in Prague aimed at establishing long-term energy and transport links with the Middle East and Central Asia.More ...
Open letter to the Chairman of the German Social Democrats
26.03.2009.
Probably only for insiders in Germany and Switzerland: The Chairman of the SPD, Franz Muentefering, said recently that the German Army could invade in Switzerland, in order to get an agreement on opening the Swiss bank secret for the German fiscal authorities. Although he of course did not intend to do so (strange kind of humour), a huge discussion began in the German and Swiss press.
A specialist on Central Asia wrote an open letter to Chairman Muentefering, which we would like to publish here (sorry, only in German). If you need a rough translation, let us know.More ...
A specialist on Central Asia wrote an open letter to Chairman Muentefering, which we would like to publish here (sorry, only in German). If you need a rough translation, let us know.More ...
Ex-Soviet states pledge NATO help on Afghanistan
26.03.2009.
Reuters - A grouping of former Soviet states that controls a key land route from Europe to Afghanistan has agreed to offer "every kind" of help to NATO forces there, its head said.More ...
Regional ties are key to stability in south, Central Asia
12.03.2009.
It is a pet peeve of many a "Eurasianist" geopolitical analyst that the U.S. State Department groups Central and South Asia together in its organizational structure. There may be historical links across Afghanistan, they argue, but these pale in comparison to the Caspian-Central Asia region's links to Russia, the West, and even China. Indeed, the geopolitics of energy, security, and development across Eurasia are usually put in terms of east-west (Western-oriented) and north-south (Russia-oriented) links.More ...
Russia’s resurgence & the closing of Manas
27.02.2009.
After Russia forced Kyrgyzstan’s hand in closing Manas Airbase, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), formed in 2002, has increased its role by creating a Rapid Reaction Force.More ...
Russia and Its Neighbors
27.02.2009.
A glimpse at recent prominent headlines involving Russia - “Conflict with Georgia”, “Gas Dispute with Ukraine”, “Financial Aid to Kyrgyzstan” - clearly illustrates that Moscow’s evolving agenda in the post-Soviet space can no longer be ignored. The United States must recognize that former Soviet states are and will continue to be an increasingly crucial focus of Russia’s foreign policy.More ...
The US is changing its policy towards Central Asia
19.02.2009.
Today we can see the U.S.A. changing its policy towards Central Asia, which is connected with the renewal of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan under new President Barack Obama.More ...
US adopting new views on possible security threats in Central Asia
18.02.2009.
Security threats are rapidly shifting in Central Asia, according to the America’s intelligence chief. Hazards faced by the United States coming from Central Asia are now more likely to be connected to economic factors, than to Islamic radicalism. The US government’s shifting perception of Central Asian security indicates that policy making in President Barack Obama’s administration will not be guided by "Islamophobia," some experts contend.More ...
Central Asia's great water game
11.02.2009.
Apples are a valuable source of income for Khadija and her family in summer, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
With a severe shortage of energy supplies affecting all aspects of life this winter, she has decided the family orchard is best suited to provide firewood for the cooking stove that now serves as a main heating source.More ...
With a severe shortage of energy supplies affecting all aspects of life this winter, she has decided the family orchard is best suited to provide firewood for the cooking stove that now serves as a main heating source.More ...
A new direction for U.S. policy in the Caspian region
11.02.2009.
Focusing U.S. policy in the Caspian on containing Russian and Chinese influence has done little to advance U.S. security interests, and reduced its standing in the region to its lowest level in decades. The Obama administration needs a new approach that provides opportunities for local leaders to engage with the United States in economic and political development, concludes a new policy brief by Martha Brill Olcott. More ...
Interview with Arkadiy Dubnov: «The countries, lacking the culture of discussion, are not able to cooperate»
11.02.2009.
The extraordinary summits of EurAsEC and CSTO, which took place in Moscow on February 4th, have resulted in, at first glance, important decisions that require substantial financial investment and strong political will from the member countries. The “Ferghana.ru” correspondent interviewed Arkadiy Dubnov, the expert on Central Asia and international observer of “Vremya Novostey” newspaper, on whether it is possible to view the establishment of 10 billion US dollars antirecessionary fund and operational response collective forces as “advancement”.More ...
European Parliament: Iran should participate in Nabucco pipeline
29.01.2009.
Iran could hold the key to breaking the European Union’s energy dependence on Russia, a senior European parliamentary official has told EurasiaNet.More ...
EU-Central Asia-Russia: The inept Gas triangle continues
29.01.2009.
It was just last week that I put in a blog piece that the EU’s chances of diversifying their gas supplies were extremely poor.
More ...Results of the Nabucco Conference in Budapest
29.01.2009.
There was an air of optimism following a one-day Nabucco international natural-gas pipeline conference in Budapest.More ...
First 2009 edition of ETG Central Asia News Digest released
25.01.2009.
The first edition of ETG’s Central Asia News Digest 2009 is available. This time we focus on Turkmenistan, discussing the health system, the energy supply in Turkmenistan, the influence of the financial global crisis on the country, reasons for Berdymukhamedov’s decision to fire members of the cabinet and the negotiations with NATO on security and further cooperation.
Again, this report is available in Russian and can be ordered.
Again, this report is available in Russian and can be ordered.
Russia on Nabucco
23.01.2009.
Russia will not oppose the construction of the Nabucco pipeline and is keen to see it become a success, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Tuesday.More ...
The EU’s got a gas problem
23.01.2009.
So it appears that Ukraine and Russia have finally come to terms on a Gas Transportation deal that will allow the former Soviet state to receive gas and send it on to Western Europe. This is just the latest in a long line of dramas involving the transport and ownership of energy reserves between the triangle of Russia, Central Asia, and the EU. For Russia must first acquire most of the gas it sells to Europe from its former Soviet states to its south, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
More ...US and Central Asia during the "Obama Era"; Interview Deutsche Welle (in Russian)
21.01.2009.
"В фокусе будет находиться Афганистан, а права человека и дальнейшая демократизация в Центральной Азии не будут столь важны"- считает немецкий экспертMore ...
Rumsfeld and Central Asia
20.01.2009.
Eurasianet writer Joshua Kucera reported on an interesting story involving former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s new foundation, which focuses on the Central Asian region. Kucera starts out skeptical of Rumsfeld and his foundation’s motivations at first, neoconservative policy pushers?, but his research seems to lead him to conclude that their goals are of a non-partisan and generous nature.
More ...Interview with Nabucco official
20.01.2009.
The ongoing dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural-gas shipments to Europe has left the European Union cold -- and eager to re-examine its options for fuel supplies. One alternative is the Nabucco pipeline, which would ship Central Asian gas directly to Europe and circumvent Russia and other troublesome countries altogether. But the EU has yet to put its weight fully behind the Nabucco project, which is still years away from completion.More ...
Freedom House: Human Rights Erosion in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan continued in 2008
14.01.2009.
According to US-based Freedom House recent Freedom In The World 2009 (FITW) annual report, based on analysis of the events from January 1 to December 31 of 2009, none of Central Asia states had positively changed the situation with human right.
More ...New Central Asia Facebook Group
14.01.2009.
The struggle for a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia
13.01.2009.
When Kazakhstan's Parliament ratified a treaty establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia earlier this month, the effort to ban nuclear weapons from the region took its final step. Throughout the Cold War, Central Asia had been the epicenter of the Soviet nuclear testing program--with the Soviet military conducting 456 nuclear tests in Kazakhstan alone. Appropriately then, the treaty was signed by representatives from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in September 2006 at Semipalatinsk, the main Soviet test site in Kazakhstan.More ...
Nabucco Pipeline may be operating by 2015, EU says
13.01.2009.
The Nabucco pipeline could be pumping gas to Europe by 2015, the Czech Deputy Prime Minister of European Affairs has claimed.More ...
Nabucco Pipeline's competitors (in German)
09.01.2009.
Der russisch-ukrainische Gasstreit hat die Diskussion über Alternativen für Europas Gasversorgung neu in Gang gebracht. Nicht nur die europäischen Abnehmerländer stehen vor der Frage, wie sie eine Diversifizierung ihrer Versorgung erreichen können. Auch Russland sucht neue Exportrouten, um von Transitländern wie der Ukraine unabhängiger zu werden. Die Strategen des Staatsmonopolisten Gazprom versuchen das auf zwei Wegen: Nord Stream, die geplante Ostsee-Pipeline, soll Erdgas vom russischen Wyborg durch die Ostsee direkt ins deutsche Lubmin bei Greifswald führen. Das Projekt, an dem auch die deutschen Unternehmen BASF/Wintershall und Eon sowie die niederländische Gasunie beteiligt sind, stößt jedoch auf Widerstände bei den baltischen und skandinavischen Anrainern, die mit den Genehmigungen zögern.More ...
Former Soviet States weigh Israel ties vs. popular anger
09.01.2009.
In Azerbaijan, Islamic activists have rallied several times since the beginning of the year against Israel's military operations in Gaza. More ...
Central Asia's era of cheap gas comes to a close
07.01.2009.
Starting on January 1, Uzbekistan increased the gas price it charges neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for natural gas to $240 per 1,000 cubic meters, saying last year's price of $145 was far below real market prices.More ...
Military Rivalry in Central Asia
23.12.2008.
The attacks of 9/11 and the ensuing war in Afghanistan did not start the new "Great Game" in Central Asia. Local governments had already grasped the Islamist threat, as well as Russia's neo-imperial longings to dominate the region. Central Asia's great energy stakes, meanwhile, had already determined American resistance to Moscow's policy. More ...
2008 In Review: Russia, EU See Caspian Energy Dreams Def
22.12.2008.
In the new geostrategic "Great Game" between Russia and the West over the future of Caspian and Central Asian energy resources, the prize resembles a set of traditional matreshka Russian dolls. The outermost doll represents the three nations bordering the Caspian itself -- Azerbaijan, , Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In the middle of the collection is Uzbekistan, the most populous of the new Central Asian nations. The innermost doll consists of the two most easterly "Stans," Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, rich in hydroelectric potential, but relatively poor in hydrocarbons.More ...