Category Archives: Uncategorised

Kyrgyz and Tajiks were part of airport attack, says Erdogan

BISHKEK, JULY 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tajiks and Kyrgyz were part of the group that planned an attack on Istanbul airport last week, again highlighting the Central Asian link to radical Islam.

Turkish security forces have arrested around 30 people, including Kyrgyz and Tajiks, and accused them of plotting the attack that killed at least 44 people and wounded over 200 on June 28.

Mr Erdogan accused the IS radical group of the attack.

“We have arrested 30 people related to the terrorist attack. We are dealing with natives of Dagestan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,” Mr Erdogan said.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan said they would investigate Mr Erdogan’s accusations.

The Istanbul attack has highlighted Central Asia as a growing recruitment centre for Islamic extremists. It is unclear whether Central Asians become radicalised in their own country or in Russia, but their growing presence in Syria’s IS training camps is undisputed.

In an effort to crush radicalism, Central Asian governments have cracked down on Islamic opposition, including ordinary, peaceful and pious Muslims, often enflaming tension.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Obama and Putin discuss Azerbaijan and Armenia

JULY 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said they would intensify efforts to resolve the stand-off between Azerbaijan and Armenia-backed forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The White House said Mr Obama and Mr Putin discussed the South Caucasus during a wide-ranging telephone conversation.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Briefing: Georgia’s EU Association Agreement

JULY 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — >> So, this EU Association Agreement that Georgia officially entered into on July I, is it a big deal? What will it change for Georgia?

>>Yes, it is important. Basically it gives Georgian businesses more access to EU markets. In return for this, the EU has insisted that Georgia improves certain areas of its laws and regulations to bring them more in line with EU standards. This mainly involves technical business issues such as health and safety standards and workers rights but also includes wider issues such as democratic reforms.

You have to keep in mind that this deal was signed two years ago, although it was only officially implemented on July 1, so many of the reforms have been ongoing.

>> I see. Why does Georgia even need to boost its access to EU markets?

>>Georgia needs better access to EU markets simply because they have become more important. It is exporting more and more products to the EU, mainly fruit, wine and water. Georgia had been reliant on former Soviet states as its main trading partner but that dynamic has shifted.

>> And on Georgia’s EU aspirations, do they really think that they can join the EU?

>>They certainly want to. Georgia has pursued an overtly pro-Western agenda since Mikheil Saakashvili was voted into power in 2004. Realistically, Georgia has a long, long way to go before anybody is really going to take their application to join the EU seriously.

What they really want next is a deal of visa liberalisation for Georgians visiting Europe for a short period of time.

The government had been receiving encouraging signs. Unfortunately for them, though, the current EU migration crisis has turned public opinion and pressured governments into restricting any potential free-movement deals.

Earlier this year European politicians warned Georgia, and Ukraine, that visa liberalisation was unlikely.

>> Are any of the other former Soviet countries also going down this road?

>>The three Baltic states became full EU members in 2004. They are also NATO members. Of the rest Ukraine has also signed an Association Agreement with the EU. Armenia was offered a similar deal but instead opted to join the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union, trade bloc that also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

>> And finally Brexit. Where would we be without talking Britain’s vote to leave the EU? Has Brexit change anything for Georgia? Is it relevant?

>>No. As fascinating and mesmerising as Brexit is, it’s not important to Georgia, unless Brexit breaks the entire EU project.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Armenia’s finance minister refuses does not respond

JULY 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s finance minister Gagik Khachatryan refused to respond to an investigative article that questioned his role in his sons’ real estate purchases in the US. His sons, Gurgen and Artyom, bought two houses in Los Angeles in 2010 for $11m and are now selling them for $35m. Transparency lobby groups have said there could be ties betweenMr Khachatryan’s ministerial position and his sons’ business deals.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Merkel to visit Kyrgyzstan

JULY 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Kyrgyzstan on July 13-14 on her first-ever visit to the Central Asian country. President Almazbek Atambayev’s press office said that the leaders will discuss cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Germany. The last timeMs Merkel metMr Atambayev was in Istanbul in May, on the sidelines of a UN-sponsored meeting.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Azerbaijan’s SOCAR reports loss

JULY 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company SOCAR posted a loss of 1.8b manat ($1.2b) in 2015 because of low oil prices, its first loss for over a decade. SOCAR said it will potentially turn a profit this year because of a sharp depreciation of the manat in December 2015, when the Central Bank ditched the peg to the US-dollar.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Kyrgyz President releases song

JULY 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev released a music video in which he sings a melancholic ballad. Mr Atambayev also wrote the Russian-language song, entitled ‘In spite of fate’. Mr Atambayev does not appear in the video which features scenes from a Soviet-era movie. Five days later, Mr Atambayev released a second music video.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 288, published on July 8 2016)

Azerbaijan invests in pipelines

JUNE 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The total cost of the new pipelines that will form the so-called Southern Gas Corridor amounts to $6.1b, according to Vagif Aliyev, head of investment at SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company. TANAP, which will run through Turkey, will cost $4.9b, out of which Azerbaijani companies will contribute $820m, according to Mr Aliyev. The Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which will connect Turkey to Italy, has a price tag of $1.2b, and will be completed in the next three years.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 287, published on July 1 2016)

Kyrgyzstan jails official

JUNE 30 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kylychbek Arpachiev, the former head of the investigations department at the Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General’s office, was jailed for 14 years for corruption and extortion. Arpachiev was arrested in 2015 for trying to extort $100,000. His imprisonment highlights the issue of corrupt officials in Kyrgyzstan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 287, published on July 1 2016)

Turkmenistan agrees barter deal with Iran

JUNE 30 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran and Turkmenistan have agreed a barter deal which significantly boosts their cooperation, media reported. According to Iranian media reports, Turkmenistan will export around $30b worth of gas to north Iran over the next 10 years in exchange for $30b of technical assistance. The two neighbours have been developing their cooperation over the past few years, often through barter agreements.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 287, published on July 1 2016)