US
US citizen a key player in alleged Italian telecom fraud
09.03.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
An apparently well-connected Soviet-born U.S. citizen has emerged as a key player in a massive Italian telecom fraud, according to court documents and published reports.
Rome Judge Aldo Morgigni has issued an arrest warrant for Eugene Gourevitch, believed to have been born in the Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan and who has reportedly held a U.S. passport since 1990, for alleged involvement in a fraud that is said to have siphoned an astonishing US$2.7 billion from the wholesale telephony divisions of Telecom Italia SpA and Fastweb SpA between 2003 and 2006.More ...
Rome Judge Aldo Morgigni has issued an arrest warrant for Eugene Gourevitch, believed to have been born in the Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan and who has reportedly held a U.S. passport since 1990, for alleged involvement in a fraud that is said to have siphoned an astonishing US$2.7 billion from the wholesale telephony divisions of Telecom Italia SpA and Fastweb SpA between 2003 and 2006.More ...
Richard Holbrooke: US has no plans to deploy military base in Uzbekistan
24.02.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
The government of the United States has no plans to open a military base in Uzbekistan, Richard Holbrooke, a U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan said on Sunday in Astana. Mr. Holbrooke is taking a tour around Central Asian republics. Before coming to Kazakhstan he already visited Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan while after meetings in Astana he will give a visit to Caucasus and, specifically, Georgia.
© Carson.Wiens
More ...US urges Tajikistan to consider the opinion of neighboring countries in the construction of Rogun
17.02.2010. Category:Tajikistan
"We realize the importance of energy security for Tajikistan and support the efforts of Tajik government to ensure the access of its citizens, enterprises and agencies to adequate and reliable energy source. We urge Tajikistan to consider the opinion of neighboring countries in the implementation of such hydropower projects as Rogun" Robert O. Black, the Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, shared in the interview to Tajik Asia-plus newspaper after the round of Tajik-American political consultations.More ...
Moscow withholding promised aid to Bishkek
17.02.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
In February of 2009, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev traveled to Moscow and secured roughly $2.15 billion in economic assistance, apparently in a quid-pro-quo deal in which Kyrgyzstan took action to evict US and NATO forces from an air base outside Bishkek. Twelve months later, American troops are still in Kyrgyzstan, and Moscow is balking at disbursing the bulk of its pledged aid.More ...
Sucking up to Dictators Is Harder Than It Looks
16.02.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
September 21, 2009, was a day of blitz diplomacy for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: She had more than eight and a half hours of bilateral meetings to juggle, along with a marathon of press briefings and camera sprays at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. But one of her sit-downs that day required particular finesse. It was with an obscure dictator whose name alone presented a challenge -- Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan. He came into the room with an immediate advantage: The United States needed his help. Clinton needed to convince him to let NATO transports through his country, a move that would ease pressure on U.S. supply lines into Afghanistan and probably save some U.S. troops. The usual approach -- money -- would not work with energy-rich Turkmenistan. It was a test of her skill as a diplomat.
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More ...US Congress Hearing "Kazakhstan's Leadership of the OSCE": Video
09.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
The video of the CSCE Hearing on „Kazakhstan’s Leadership of the OSCE“ is now online:
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Interview with CSCE Co-Chair A. Hastings on Kazakhstan
05.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
Co-Chairman Hastings Interview with Erica Marat of Voice of America
Question:Good morning, Congressman Hastings. It is our pleasure to have you here at VOA. My question is: you supported Kazakhstan’s bid to chair the OSCE back in 2007. Please tell us the main reason for your support.
Co-Chairman Hastings:That’s a very good question and, I had been involved at that time in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for almost 12 years and including at some point a few years back becoming the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE. I worked with the Central Asian countries pretty much six or seven years after they gained their independence in the early ‘90s until today.More ...
Question:Good morning, Congressman Hastings. It is our pleasure to have you here at VOA. My question is: you supported Kazakhstan’s bid to chair the OSCE back in 2007. Please tell us the main reason for your support.
Co-Chairman Hastings:That’s a very good question and, I had been involved at that time in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for almost 12 years and including at some point a few years back becoming the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE. I worked with the Central Asian countries pretty much six or seven years after they gained their independence in the early ‘90s until today.More ...
OSCE Chairperson meets U.S. Secretary of State Clinton
05.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
The U.S. role in the OSCE is key to the renewed security dialogue launched in the Organization, said the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State and Foreign Minister, Kanat Saudabayev, today after talks with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.More ...
Not a fair deal - Turkmenistan's relations with the West
04.02.2010. Category:Turkmenistan
When Turkmenistan began opening up to the outside world following the death of President Saparmurat Niazov three years ago, the theory was that increased economic engagement by Western states would encourage a more general relaxation of policy in such areas as human rights and political liberties.
Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov with Hillary Clinton: Photo by US State Department.More ...
Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov with Hillary Clinton: Photo by US State Department.More ...
OSCE welcomes Kazakhstan as chair, but raises its record on rights
03.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
The U.S. arm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has welcomed Kazakhstan as the new chair of the organization but cautioned the former Soviet republic that it must improve its own rights record if it wants to be effective in its new role.
OSCE Chairman n Office Kanat Saudabaev says his government will deepen the OSCE's humanitarian engagement in Afghanistan
February 02, 2010More ...
OSCE Chairman n Office Kanat Saudabaev says his government will deepen the OSCE's humanitarian engagement in Afghanistan
February 02, 2010More ...
US trying new track on Nabucco project
03.02.2010. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
CSCE calls for Kazakhstan to lead OSCE by example
03.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
Leaders of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe today welcomed Kazakhstan’s leadership in organizing their Chairmanship of one of the world’s leading rights organizations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, but Commissioners called on the newly-installed Chair-in-Office to lead the OSCE by example and improve its domestic human rights record.More ...
US exploring new routes to Afghanistan
02.02.2010. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
Overcoming the current crisis of confidence is crucial to tackling new threats to security, OSCE Chairperson tells U.S. Helsinki Commission
02.02.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
It is crucial to overcome the current crisis of confidence between states to tackle new challenges and threats to security, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's Secretary of State and Foreign Minister, Kanat Saudabayev, said today to the U.S. Helsinki Commission.More ...
Karimov’s plan: Uzbekistan to strengthen bilateral cooperation with USA
29.01.2010. Category:Uzbekistan
The President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov approved the Action Plan on strengthening bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United States of America for 2010, Gazeta.Uz reports. It has to be mentioned that the Uzbek leader signed the appropriate decree on January 11; nonetheless, only today many local mass media reported this fact.More ...
US Response to Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev
14.01.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
The United States is pleased to welcome Foreign Minister Saudabayev to the Permanent Council as the OSCE’s 2010 Chairman-in-Office. We are also pleased that President Nazarbayev took the opportunity to address us this morning. Both of these statements underscore Kazakhstan’s commitment to the OSCE and to a strong and successful Chairmanship.More ...
Congress Caucus on Central Asia
30.11.2009. Category:Central Asia
Nothing highlights the growing importance of Central Asia in Washington more than the formation of a congressional caucus.More ...
U.S. OSCE official says dialogue best way to spread democracy
07.10.2009. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
Are reforms back on the shelf?
23.09.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov is making a trip to the United States this week which includes a speech at the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly and meetings with top US officials. It will be difficult for him to present himself as the hoped for reformer who is willing to take Turkmenistan out of present isolationist course.More ...
Pentagon plans for deployment of special force to states outside Afghanistan
18.09.2009. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
Is Turkey trying to help U.S. stay at Manas?
28.05.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Scant attention has been paid to Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, which began on May 26.
But some observers think Gul’s trip -- the first to Bishkek by a Turkish president in nine years -- is more than a bilateral visit and might be an important geopolitical gambit in which Gul is doing the West’s bidding. More ...
But some observers think Gul’s trip -- the first to Bishkek by a Turkish president in nine years -- is more than a bilateral visit and might be an important geopolitical gambit in which Gul is doing the West’s bidding. More ...
Uzbekistan gives US air base it needs for Afghan operations
11.05.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
With a helping hand from South Korea, the United States has reestablished a strategic presence in Uzbekistan - sort of. The development provides a boost for US efforts to press an offensive against Islamic militants in Afghanistan, and offers evidence that Russia’s influence in Central Asia is waning.More ...
Ex-Soviet states pledge NATO help on Afghanistan
26.03.2009. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
Pentagon looks to become engine for economic stabilization
19.03.2009. Category:Tajikistan
A Pentagon-funded aid program to Tajikistan will aim to promote economic development in some of the most neglected parts of the country over the next three years, in an attempt to "prevent the rise of another Afghanistan."
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Regional ties are key to stability in south, Central Asia
12.03.2009. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan confirm new supply outes
06.03.2009. Category:Uzbekistan | Turkmenistan
On February 24 and 25 Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov paid a state visit to Uzbekistan for talks with President Islom Karimov. The discussions, which covered a wide range of issues, signaled a further strengthening of bilateral ties; but this was overshadowed by the confirmation by both leaders that their countries would participate in the northern supply route, assisting in the delivery of non-lethal materials to Afghanistan (Uzbek National News Agency, February 25). This is a further indication that the security dynamics in the region are rapidly changing following Russia's recent moves to undermine the U.S. military presence at Manas and activate the CSTO Rapid Reaction Forces. U.S. and NATO planning staffs are evidently engaged in a search for viable options to ensure continued supplies for the forces in Afghanistan.More ...
No easy routes into Afghanistan
05.03.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
“WELCOME to Freedom’s Frontier,” reads a wooden sign at the pine-clad headquarters of America’s Manas airbase in Kyrgyzstan. With its picnic tables, mountain views and community-outreach programmes, this site provides a tranquil vantage-point for the war in Afghanistan, just 90 minutes’ flight away. But Kyrgyzstan said in February that it was closing Manas, which the American-led coalition uses to ferry thousands of troops into Afghanistan each year and as a base for refuelling planes for combat aircraft.More ...
Kyrgyzstan says U.S. base closure is final
05.03.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan will not reverse its decision to shut a U.S. military air base that was used by Washington for the war in Afghanistan, a spokesman for President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said on Thursday.
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Kyrgyzstan open to air base talks with U.S.
05.03.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is ready for talks with the United States on the future of its Manas military air base, which is due to be shut down in six months, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.More ...
Human rights and military bases
05.03.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan | Uzbekistan
In his Washington Post op ed last week, Kyrgyzstan’s long-time ambassador to the U.S. gave us a fascinating insight into the process of base negotiations. Once the U.S. had its base, he wrote, all concerns about human rights and democracy went out the window. The base became the alpha and omega of the U.S.-Kyrgyz relationship, a development he wisely termed detrimental to both sides. With U.S. expulsion from its prime supply base in Kyrgyzstan now looming on the horizon just as the Obama Administration prepares to implement its ramp-up in neighboring Afghanistan, the U.S. quest for a base to replace Manas (Ganci) Air Force Base is getting feverish. And how does this affect human rights policy?More ...
Turkmen, Uzbeks to Help NATO’s Afghan Effort
05.03.2009. Category:Uzbekistan | Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are to allow NATO freight to cross their territory on its way to Afghanistan. NBCentralAsia see this as a clear sign that both states want to cooperate with the West, and also to demonstrate a new commitment to work in tandem with one another. More ...
Russia and Its Neighbors
27.02.2009. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
Afghan supply train makes way through Uzbek territory
27.02.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is allowing the transit of non-military goods bound for US troops in Afghanistan. President Islam Karimov confirmed February 25 that a train full of cargo was rattling its way across the domestic rail network.More ...
Ashkhabad opens airspace to US and NATO supply flights to Afghanistan
27.02.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
Citing a desire to help Afghanistan in "matters of humanitarian concern," Turkmenistan’s leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, announced February 25 that Turkmenistan will permit US and NATO planes to ferry non-military goods to troops in Afghanistan across the Central Asian country’s airspace.More ...
Despite Kyrgyz vote to close U.S. Base, Gates explores options to keep it open
20.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that the United States might consider increasing payments to Kyrgyzstan for access to a crucial air base, just hours after the Kyrgyz Parliament voted to terminate the lease and require the Americans to vacate the base within six months.
“We have not resigned ourselves to this being the last word,” Mr. Gates said at a meeting here of NATO defense ministers to discuss the need for more combat forces and reconstruction teams in Afghanistan.
The base, in Manas, plays a central role for NATO’s Afghan mission. It provides transit facilities for thousands of personnel and 500 tons of cargo each month, and it is used by the tanker aircraft that refuel fighter planes on missions over Afghanistan. The Obama administration has called the war there a high priority, announcing this week that an additional 17,000 American troops would be sent in the coming months. The loss of the base is seen as a serious challenge.
Mr. Gates said the United States remained prepared to discuss with Kyrgyzstan whether larger fees were warranted for use of the base, but he cautioned, “We are not going to be ridiculous about it.”
“Manas is important,” he said, “but it is not irreplaceable.”
He said that American negotiators already were deep into discussions with “a number of different countries,” including Russia, about alternatives to the logistics hub in Kyrgyzstan.
It remained unclear how quickly the United States would have to find an alternative. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan was expected to send Washington an official notice, but American officials said they still did not know when it would be received or when the six-month countdown would start. Mr. Bakiyev signed the legislation on Friday.
The bill in Parliament was approved by 78 of the 81 lawmakers present, with two voting against it and one abstaining.
The Kyrgyz government in Bishkek had longstanding complaints about the base and had asked for more cash compensation. Tensions were exacerbated in 2006 when an American serviceman fatally shot a Kyrgyz truck driver.
Mr. Bakiyev announced the move to close the base at a news conference with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia, who this month promised to shore up Kyrgyzstan’s struggling economy with about $2.15 billion in loans and grants. Moscow has long complained about the continued American military presence in Central Asia, and many in Washington concluded that Russia had encouraged the move in an attempt to assert its dominance in the region.
Although Russian and Kyrgyz officials say there was no connection between the Kremlin’s financial aid and efforts to kick out the Americans, senior American officials have complained that the Russians are trying to have it both ways — with the Kremlin expressing a desire to support the international military mission in Afghanistan while pressing the Kyrgyz government to end American access to its air base.
In public comments as part of the vote, Kyrgyz lawmakers portrayed the action as the culmination of years of complaints and said the American presence in Central Asia had outlasted its usefulness.
“It is impossible to make people of Afghanistan live by standards which are brought in from abroad,” said Kabai Karabhekov, a member of Parliament. “One has to give an opportunity to Afghan people to build their country themselves.”
The shadow of Russian actions in Central Asia and Central Europe fell over the session of NATO ministers here, as Mr. Gates also was pressed on whether the Obama administration intended to move forward with a plan for missile defenses in Europe that had been a priority of the Bush administration’s foreign policy and that had brought threats of military retaliation from Russia.
Mr. Gates, in his first overseas trip since he began serving the new president, said the missile defense bases planned in Poland and the Czech Republic would proceed if the technology proved it could work and was affordable.
Neither of those two caveats were part of the Bush administration’s language when discussing requirements for the bases.
But Mr. Gates also made it clear that the Obama administration had not yet met on the issue of missile defense policy, and that no decisions had been made on how to proceed.
“The administration has not yet reviewed where it is on a whole range of issues,” Mr. Gates said, including the missile defense program and how to manage that within the relationship with Russia.
Mr. Gates said the radar proposed for the Czech Republic and the 10 interceptor missiles for Poland were to counter a potential threat from Iran, and he reiterated that the United States would work with NATO and wanted Russia as a partner in the effort.
To reassure his hosts here, Mr. Gates said that a series of new bilateral military cooperation efforts with Poland were proceeding even as the prospects for the missile defense site on Polish territory remained uncertain.
Also Thursday, NATO officials confirmed that Germany had pledged 600 more soldiers to the mission in Afghanistan.
“We welcome the commitment of additional German forces for the upcoming Afghan national elections,” said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary. “For those contests to be credible, voter turnout must be robust and representative, and improving the security situation is the key to making that happen.”
Italy announced this week that it would add 500 troops to the alliance mission in Afghanistan by April.
Source: New York Times
“We have not resigned ourselves to this being the last word,” Mr. Gates said at a meeting here of NATO defense ministers to discuss the need for more combat forces and reconstruction teams in Afghanistan.
The base, in Manas, plays a central role for NATO’s Afghan mission. It provides transit facilities for thousands of personnel and 500 tons of cargo each month, and it is used by the tanker aircraft that refuel fighter planes on missions over Afghanistan. The Obama administration has called the war there a high priority, announcing this week that an additional 17,000 American troops would be sent in the coming months. The loss of the base is seen as a serious challenge.
Mr. Gates said the United States remained prepared to discuss with Kyrgyzstan whether larger fees were warranted for use of the base, but he cautioned, “We are not going to be ridiculous about it.”
“Manas is important,” he said, “but it is not irreplaceable.”
He said that American negotiators already were deep into discussions with “a number of different countries,” including Russia, about alternatives to the logistics hub in Kyrgyzstan.
It remained unclear how quickly the United States would have to find an alternative. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan was expected to send Washington an official notice, but American officials said they still did not know when it would be received or when the six-month countdown would start. Mr. Bakiyev signed the legislation on Friday.
The bill in Parliament was approved by 78 of the 81 lawmakers present, with two voting against it and one abstaining.
The Kyrgyz government in Bishkek had longstanding complaints about the base and had asked for more cash compensation. Tensions were exacerbated in 2006 when an American serviceman fatally shot a Kyrgyz truck driver.
Mr. Bakiyev announced the move to close the base at a news conference with President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia, who this month promised to shore up Kyrgyzstan’s struggling economy with about $2.15 billion in loans and grants. Moscow has long complained about the continued American military presence in Central Asia, and many in Washington concluded that Russia had encouraged the move in an attempt to assert its dominance in the region.
Although Russian and Kyrgyz officials say there was no connection between the Kremlin’s financial aid and efforts to kick out the Americans, senior American officials have complained that the Russians are trying to have it both ways — with the Kremlin expressing a desire to support the international military mission in Afghanistan while pressing the Kyrgyz government to end American access to its air base.
In public comments as part of the vote, Kyrgyz lawmakers portrayed the action as the culmination of years of complaints and said the American presence in Central Asia had outlasted its usefulness.
“It is impossible to make people of Afghanistan live by standards which are brought in from abroad,” said Kabai Karabhekov, a member of Parliament. “One has to give an opportunity to Afghan people to build their country themselves.”
The shadow of Russian actions in Central Asia and Central Europe fell over the session of NATO ministers here, as Mr. Gates also was pressed on whether the Obama administration intended to move forward with a plan for missile defenses in Europe that had been a priority of the Bush administration’s foreign policy and that had brought threats of military retaliation from Russia.
Mr. Gates, in his first overseas trip since he began serving the new president, said the missile defense bases planned in Poland and the Czech Republic would proceed if the technology proved it could work and was affordable.
Neither of those two caveats were part of the Bush administration’s language when discussing requirements for the bases.
But Mr. Gates also made it clear that the Obama administration had not yet met on the issue of missile defense policy, and that no decisions had been made on how to proceed.
“The administration has not yet reviewed where it is on a whole range of issues,” Mr. Gates said, including the missile defense program and how to manage that within the relationship with Russia.
Mr. Gates said the radar proposed for the Czech Republic and the 10 interceptor missiles for Poland were to counter a potential threat from Iran, and he reiterated that the United States would work with NATO and wanted Russia as a partner in the effort.
To reassure his hosts here, Mr. Gates said that a series of new bilateral military cooperation efforts with Poland were proceeding even as the prospects for the missile defense site on Polish territory remained uncertain.
Also Thursday, NATO officials confirmed that Germany had pledged 600 more soldiers to the mission in Afghanistan.
“We welcome the commitment of additional German forces for the upcoming Afghan national elections,” said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary. “For those contests to be credible, voter turnout must be robust and representative, and improving the security situation is the key to making that happen.”
Italy announced this week that it would add 500 troops to the alliance mission in Afghanistan by April.
Source: New York Times
US moves suggest Afghan NATO supply-route talks with Kyrgyzstan
20.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan's eviction of U.S. forces from an air base in the country was already seen as a setback for NATO's efforts to expand its presence in Afghanistan.
That's because the air base at Manas, whose lease to the U.S. forces came closer to ending with Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev signing off on a parliamentary bill calling for their eviction, has long served as a key staging post for the alliance's military operations in Afghanistan.
Bakiev's signature is the final step before Kyrgyz authorities issue a notice that will give the United States 180 days to vacate the facility, used as a transit point for 15,000 troops and some 500 tons of cargo each month to and from Afghanistan.
Now, defense ministers from NATO countries meeting for a second day in Krakow, Poland, will have to address another setback: The government in Pakistan's Punjab Province has cancelled a private deal on a new supply terminal for overland NATO deliveries into Afghanistan from the port city of Karachi. They say the deal was cancelled because of security concerns.
The main land route into landlocked Afghanistan passes through Pakistan's lawless Khyber tribal region and another land crossing through the southwest province of Baluchistan. Regional insurgency is rife in those areas and pro-Taliban militants have been focusing attacks on bridges, terminals, and even convoys of NATO supply trucks.
Alternative Routes
With the pressure growing on NATO's logistical support, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed at the NATO gathering in Krakow that Washington is now in talks with several other countries about alternative supply routes that would replace Manas.
Still, Gates suggested that talks on the future of the base are still open and that there could be negotiations with Bishkek about the amount of money paid for maintaining a U.S. presence at Manas.
He told reporters in Krakow on February 19 that the Pentagon is looking to see if there is justification for Bishkek to receive a larger payment. But he said Washington was "not going to be ridiculous about it."
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are possible alternatives. U.S. Rear Admiral Mark Harnitchek has been in Dushanbe for talks with Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi on the issue.
Harnitchek said in Dushanbe on February 19 that Tajikistan has agreed in principle to the use of its railways and roads for the transit of "nonlethal" military supplies into Afghanistan:
"Clearly any nation that shares a border with Afghanistan is important, and because the distance to our bases in Afghanistan is likely the shortest from Tajikistan, so by extension, Tajikistan is very important," Harnitchek said.
Harnitchek also said Uzbekistan has agreed to the transit of cargo and that the Pentagon plans to send 50 to 200 cargo containers each week from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and then by land into Afghanistan.
But U.S. officials are emphasizing that no formal agreement has been signed yet.
Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on whether it had approved the transit of NATO supplies across its territory. General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, visited Uzbekistan on February 17 in what appears to have been an attempt to seek the use of the country as a transit route for supplies in Afghanistan.
Moscow Give And Take
Kyrgyz President Bakiev announced the pending closure of Manas earlier this month, complaining the United States was not paying enough rent for the base. His announcement came shortly after he secured $2.15 billion in aid and loans from Russia during a visit to Moscow.
That has led some observers to conclude that the Kremlin has had a hand in instigating the closure of Manas. But Russia also has offered the use of its railroad network for the overland transport of nonlethal military supplies into Afghanistan.
Patrick Moon, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, said in Helsinki this week that the route would carry cargo from Latvia through Russia and Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan -- and eventually on to Afghanistan. He said the first trains could carry that cargo before the end of February.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of NATO defense ministers' meeting in Krakow, Gates warned that Moscow is trying to "have it both ways" by offering help in Afghanistan and undermining U.S. efforts there at the same time.
Gates also has sought to downplay the significance of Manas, saying that it is import but not irreplaceable.
Analysts see those remarks, and moves by the Pentagon to seek alternative supply routes, as a sign that price negotiations are still under way between Washington and Bishkek on the use of Manas.
Source: RFE/RL
That's because the air base at Manas, whose lease to the U.S. forces came closer to ending with Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev signing off on a parliamentary bill calling for their eviction, has long served as a key staging post for the alliance's military operations in Afghanistan.
Bakiev's signature is the final step before Kyrgyz authorities issue a notice that will give the United States 180 days to vacate the facility, used as a transit point for 15,000 troops and some 500 tons of cargo each month to and from Afghanistan.
Now, defense ministers from NATO countries meeting for a second day in Krakow, Poland, will have to address another setback: The government in Pakistan's Punjab Province has cancelled a private deal on a new supply terminal for overland NATO deliveries into Afghanistan from the port city of Karachi. They say the deal was cancelled because of security concerns.
The main land route into landlocked Afghanistan passes through Pakistan's lawless Khyber tribal region and another land crossing through the southwest province of Baluchistan. Regional insurgency is rife in those areas and pro-Taliban militants have been focusing attacks on bridges, terminals, and even convoys of NATO supply trucks.
Alternative Routes
With the pressure growing on NATO's logistical support, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed at the NATO gathering in Krakow that Washington is now in talks with several other countries about alternative supply routes that would replace Manas.
Still, Gates suggested that talks on the future of the base are still open and that there could be negotiations with Bishkek about the amount of money paid for maintaining a U.S. presence at Manas.
He told reporters in Krakow on February 19 that the Pentagon is looking to see if there is justification for Bishkek to receive a larger payment. But he said Washington was "not going to be ridiculous about it."
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are possible alternatives. U.S. Rear Admiral Mark Harnitchek has been in Dushanbe for talks with Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi on the issue.
Harnitchek said in Dushanbe on February 19 that Tajikistan has agreed in principle to the use of its railways and roads for the transit of "nonlethal" military supplies into Afghanistan:
"Clearly any nation that shares a border with Afghanistan is important, and because the distance to our bases in Afghanistan is likely the shortest from Tajikistan, so by extension, Tajikistan is very important," Harnitchek said.
Harnitchek also said Uzbekistan has agreed to the transit of cargo and that the Pentagon plans to send 50 to 200 cargo containers each week from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and then by land into Afghanistan.
But U.S. officials are emphasizing that no formal agreement has been signed yet.
Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on whether it had approved the transit of NATO supplies across its territory. General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, visited Uzbekistan on February 17 in what appears to have been an attempt to seek the use of the country as a transit route for supplies in Afghanistan.
Moscow Give And Take
Kyrgyz President Bakiev announced the pending closure of Manas earlier this month, complaining the United States was not paying enough rent for the base. His announcement came shortly after he secured $2.15 billion in aid and loans from Russia during a visit to Moscow.
That has led some observers to conclude that the Kremlin has had a hand in instigating the closure of Manas. But Russia also has offered the use of its railroad network for the overland transport of nonlethal military supplies into Afghanistan.
Patrick Moon, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, said in Helsinki this week that the route would carry cargo from Latvia through Russia and Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan -- and eventually on to Afghanistan. He said the first trains could carry that cargo before the end of February.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of NATO defense ministers' meeting in Krakow, Gates warned that Moscow is trying to "have it both ways" by offering help in Afghanistan and undermining U.S. efforts there at the same time.
Gates also has sought to downplay the significance of Manas, saying that it is import but not irreplaceable.
Analysts see those remarks, and moves by the Pentagon to seek alternative supply routes, as a sign that price negotiations are still under way between Washington and Bishkek on the use of Manas.
Source: RFE/RL
Last flight out of Kyrgyzstan
20.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
For two weeks, the U.S. struggle to hold on to its last air base in Central Asia has made headlines, and the vote in Kyrgyzstan's parliament yesterday to close Manas Air Base will spark still more coverage. Analysts have rushed to portray this as a new chess match between a resurgent Russian Federation and a recalibrating United States; just as a new American president seeks to bolster the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, the principal land corridor from Pakistan is severed through a bridge bombing and the likely air base closure threatens the Obama administration's plan. The oversimplified but oft-repeated explanation is that Kremlin pressure is the source of Washington's predicament.More ...
Moscow indicates it won't be ignored in the 'near abroad'
19.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
On a recent visit to Moscow, the president of Kyrgyzstan announced that he was canceling the U.S. right to use the Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan, which has served as a transit point for U.S. and NATO shipments to Afghanistan since December 2001. S. Frederick Starr, a long-time expert on the Caucasus and Central Asia, says Russia is using a "carrot and stick" approach to attempt to force the United States out of the air base. He says this shows Moscow's determination to reclaim its traditional influence in the so-called near abroad and its determination "to establish a sphere of influence, and they mean an exclusive sphere of influence, in the former Soviet territories, including the Caucasus and Central Asia."More ...
The US is changing its policy towards Central Asia
19.02.2009. Category:Central Asia
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. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
Did Petraeus secure an Afghan transit agre ement with Tashkent?
18.02.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
The chief of US Central Command, Gen. David Petraeus, has wrapped up a visit to Uzbekistan. Sources indicate that the discussions went well, and that the United States may have secured Tashkent’s permission to begin rail shipments of non-lethal supplies via Central Asia to Afghanistan.More ...
Barack Obama's Uzbekistan Problem
17.02.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
President Barack Obama's administration is not yet a month old, and editorialists have already accused the new president of losing his innocence after he was forced to abandon his lofty talk of bipartisanship over the economic stimulus plan. But a touch of partisan politics at home is nothing compared with the ethical predicament now looming in Central Asia, where Obama may soon need to choose either funding a vicious dictator in Uzbekistan or hindering the mission in Afghanistan. Getting into bed with Uzbekistan could be Obama's first ugly but necessary foreign-policy compromise.More ...
Petraeus in Uzbekistan to discuss Afghan supply routes
17.02.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, has arrived in Uzbekistan for talks on new supply routes for U.S. troops in Afghanistan and other security issues, the U.S. Embassy there said.More ...
Ten years after terror's arrival in Central Asia
16.02.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
When Tashkent's central districts were rocked by series of bombings 10 years ago, terrorism was not a word commonly equated with Central Asia.More ...
Kyrgyzstan takes step towards U.S. air base closure
16.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan moved a step closer to evicting U.S. troops on Monday after the government sent to parliament the final package of documents required to close down an air base used to support U.S. forces in nearby Afghanistan.More ...
The issue of “Manas” is going to be considered by another parliament committee on February 17
13.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
It is expected that the governmental decree on dissolving the contract for the use of “Manas” airbase by air forces of USA and their anti-terrorist coalition allies in Afghanistan will be considered by another Jogorku Kenesh (parliament) committee of Kyrgyzstan. This was declared by the press-service of the republican parliament.
It is worth saying that on February 9 the parliament committee for defense, security, law and judicial order reform already approved the withdrawal of airbase from the territory of the republic. Now, the session of the committee for constitutional law, state structure, legislation and human rights will consider this topic on February 17, 2009 at 2pm.
The Kyrgyz Republic draft Law “On denunciation of response note of Kyrgyz Republic foreign affairs ministry to the note # 542, issued by the Embassy of the United States of America, dated December 4, 2001, and together forming the Agreement between the government of Kyrgyz Republic and the government of the United States of America” was addressed to the parliament by the government of Kyrgyzstan on February 4th.
“Ferghana.ru” was reporting earlier that the decision of Kyrgyzstan’s officials to end the activity of anti-terrorist coalition military base was announced by the President of the country, Kurmanbek Bakiev, at the press-conference in Moscow on February 3, 2009.
It is worth to remind that US airbase was launched in Kyrgyzstan on December 2001, based on UN mandate, supporting “Enduring freedom” anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan, conducted by of coalition forces. Today, there are more than one thousand US soldiers as well as military transport aircrafts and fuel servicing planes, located at the airbase.
Source: Ferghana.ru
It is worth saying that on February 9 the parliament committee for defense, security, law and judicial order reform already approved the withdrawal of airbase from the territory of the republic. Now, the session of the committee for constitutional law, state structure, legislation and human rights will consider this topic on February 17, 2009 at 2pm.
The Kyrgyz Republic draft Law “On denunciation of response note of Kyrgyz Republic foreign affairs ministry to the note # 542, issued by the Embassy of the United States of America, dated December 4, 2001, and together forming the Agreement between the government of Kyrgyz Republic and the government of the United States of America” was addressed to the parliament by the government of Kyrgyzstan on February 4th.
“Ferghana.ru” was reporting earlier that the decision of Kyrgyzstan’s officials to end the activity of anti-terrorist coalition military base was announced by the President of the country, Kurmanbek Bakiev, at the press-conference in Moscow on February 3, 2009.
It is worth to remind that US airbase was launched in Kyrgyzstan on December 2001, based on UN mandate, supporting “Enduring freedom” anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan, conducted by of coalition forces. Today, there are more than one thousand US soldiers as well as military transport aircrafts and fuel servicing planes, located at the airbase.
Source: Ferghana.ru
Robert Gates: “Manas” airbase, possibly, will not be closed
12.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
American “Manas” airbase in Kyrgyzstan is an important spot on the way to Afghanistan, but it is possible find alternative for it. This was announced by US Defense Secretary, Robert Gates on February 10, the Lenta.Ru reports with the reference to Agence France-Presse. “Manas” base is not irreplaceable, Mr. Gates said and added that American military officials already started looking at alternatives. Moreover, USA “do not foreclose the possibility” that the base would remain open.More ...
US options after Kyrgyz base closure
11.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
US officials are looking for alternative ways of transporting soldiers and goods to Afghanistan after a decision by the Kyrgyz government to close a US base on its soil.More ...
A new direction for U.S. policy in the Caspian region
11.02.2009. Category:Central Asia
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. Category:Central Asia
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 ...
Kazakhstan’s Peacekeepers Penciled in for Afghanistan?
23.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
On January 14 Commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) General David Petraeus, visited Kazakhstan. Among the key senior Kazakh military officers he met with was Lieutenant-General Bolat Sembinov, the deputy defense minister responsible for cooperation with the West. Ostensibly they discussed progress in implementing the new five-year bilateral military cooperation program agreed on in February 2008. General Petraeus was especially interested in bolstering stability in Afghanistan.
More ...Karimov quells Russian gas fears, secures deal
23.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan has pledged to support a new trans-Russian gas pipeline, easing Moscow's fears it would succumb to European pressure to bypass Russia with its energy supplies and reduce its influence in the region.More ...
Students prohibited to approach the US Embassy in Tashkent
23.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
Ferghana.Ru sources in Tashkent say that administration of colleges and universities demand written reports from their students on every visit to the US Embassy.
More ...US and Central Asia during the "Obama Era"; Interview Deutsche Welle (in Russian)
21.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
"В фокусе будет находиться Афганистан, а права человека и дальнейшая демократизация в Центральной Азии не будут столь важны"- считает немецкий экспертMore ...
US Embassy in Turkmenistan: Improving relations
20.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
The U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat says bilateral relations have improved since Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov came to power in late 2006. More ...
Rumsfeld and Central Asia
20.01.2009. Category:Central Asia
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 ...Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan as a Ministry of Propaganda
20.01.2009. Category:Uzbekistan
On January 15 2009 Embassy of Uzbekistan to the United States released a press release on the consideration of Uzbekistan’s National Report within the framework of Universal Periodic Report of UN Human Rights Council.
More ...Petraeus visits Turkmenistan
16.01.2009. Category:Turkmenistan
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus on Jan. 15 arrived in Turkmenistan to seek cooperation in improving security in Afghanistan, The Associated Press reported. Petraeus will meet with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov on Jan. 16. His trip is part of a tour of Central Asian countries aimed at getting assistance for U.S. efforts to secure supply lines for troops in Afghanistan.
Top US General courts Astana's participation in Afghan resupply initiative
15.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
The head of the US Central Command, Gen. David Petraeus, is touring Central Asian states amid frenzied speculation that Kyrgyz leaders are considering closing an American air base outside of Bishkek in return for $2 billion in assistance from Russia.More ...
If Obama and Khamenei want to get along, they should start watching TV
15.01.2009. Category:Tajikistan
At five minutes to five yesterday afternoon, Tehran time, Iranian television viewers finally got the channel they have been asking for. It delivered both national and international news in a snappy, professional style. The first item was about Gaza. The channel also reported the results of a specially commissioned opinion poll which suggests that 94% of Iranians believe their country is entitled to develop civil nuclear power but only 50% are comfortable with the idea of the Islamic Republic having nuclear weapons. Then there was an interactive programme called Your Turn, with people from inside and outside the country ringing and texting in to discuss Iranians' perceptions of themselves and the world's view of Iran.More ...
US seeking Afghan supply route via Kazakhstan
14.01.2009. Category:Kazakhstan
ALMATY (Reuters) -- The United States is talking to Kazakhstan about using the former Soviet republic as a transit point for supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command chief General David Petraeus has said.More ...