Author Archives: Editor

UK foreign minister goes on “grand tour” of Central Asia

APRIL 22 2024 (The Bulletin) — David Cameron, Britain’s foreign minister, started a “Grand Tour” of Central Asia designed to win backing for migrant labour deals from the region’s presidents and persuade them to support the West over the Kremlin. Lord Cameron becomes the first British foreign minister to visit Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, highlighting the increased importance of the region. Britain has been trying to plug Brexit labour shortages with migrants from Central Asia.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan to link power grids

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APRIL 21 2024 (The Bulletin) — Iran’s energy ministry said that a project to link the Iranian, Azerbaijani and Russian power grids will start towards the end of the year. The deal is seen as important by Iran because it can import much-needed electricity to its northern regions. Russia has pushed the project as part of its improved relations with Iran since it invaded Ukraine. The three countries have also been working on a south-north trade corridor.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Threats made against Kazakh murder judge

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APRIL 19 2024 (The Bulletin) — Police in Astana started investigating anonymous threats made against the judge presiding over the trial of former Kazakh economy minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev for the murder of his wife. The Supreme Court said that the threats had been left on the phone of Aizhan Kulbayeva, the judge. Bishimbayev’s trial is perhaps the most high-profile murder trial in Kazakhstan’s history.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Kazakhstan bans vaping

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APRIL 19 2024 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan banned vapes because it said that the e-cigarettes were bad for people’s health. Vaping in Kazakhstan has boomed, especially among young people.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Armenian seperatist leader goes on hunger strike

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APRIL 19 2024 (The Bulletin) — A billionaire former leader of Armenia-backed rebels in Nagorno-Karabakh has gone on hunger strike in an Azerbaijani prison, media reported. Ruben Vardanyan was arrested in September during a lightning Azerbaijani strike on Stepanakert, the rebel capital. He was the co-founder of Troika Dialog, one of Russia’s biggest investment banks, but he renounced his Russian citizenship in 2022 and moved to Stepanakert to become a leader for several months.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Uzbeksitan, Tajikistan take alliance “to next level”

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APRIL 18 2024 (The Bulletin) — In Dushanbe, the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan signed deals which they said placed their alliance at the “highest level”. The deal is set to improve bilateral relations across a range of sectors from tourism to agriculture. Bilateral relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan had been poor until Shavkat Mirziyoyev took over as Uzbek president in 2016 from the paranoid Islam Karimov.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Armenia strengthens domestic abuse laws

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APRIL 18 2024 (The Bulletin) — Armenia’s parliament has approved new laws that toughen punishments for domestic abuse, said the New York-based Human Rights Watch. The amendments included coercion as a form of domestic abuse and labelled stalking as a crime. HRW said that more needed to be done to improve women’s rights in Armenia but that this was an important step. It also described the amendments as a move towards the West.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Football captain backs protests

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APRIL 17 2024 (The Bulletin) — The captain of the Georgian football team that qualified for the European Championships for the first time last month, joined criticism of the government’s attempts to force through a “foreign agents” law that will crimp Western-backed NGOs and media. Jaba Kankava holds near cult status in Georgia after his team defeated Greece on penalties in their final qualifying match for Euro-2024.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

EU to send “non-lethal” aid to Armenia

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APRIL 17 2024 (The Bulletin) — The EU agreed to send “non-lethal” military aid to Armenia for the first time, part of increasingly tight ties. Under the agreement, Armenia will send 10m euros under the European Peace Facility (EPF) which will finance battalion-sized field camps and army medical centres. Last month the EU pledged 270m euros to Armenia to strengthen business and society against Russian influence. ENDS

— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2024

Kyrgyzstan bans TikTok

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APRIL 17 2024 (The Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan banned the Chinese social media app TikTok because lawmakers said that it was polluting young people. Its security forces, the GKNB, said that TikTok harms the “health of children, their intellect, mental, spiritual and moral development”. Kazakhstan said it is considering a similar ban.

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— This story was published in issue 565 of the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on April 23 2024