OCT. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – As well as boosting gas exports to neighbouring Iran, Turkmenistan now wants to increase electricity supplies. Under President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan has become a major energy exporter across the Middle East. Earlier this year it agreed to boost gas supplies to Iran.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia and Russia often appear to be playing an extended game of cat and mouse.
Only a few days after Russia warned Georgia that it would not tolerate any NATO equipment in the country, USS Mount Whitney steamed into Batumi, its third visit to the Georgian Black Sea port (since 2008).
Its mission, according to reports, is a simple joint training exercise with Georgia’s navy. On its previous two trips Russia has accused it of delivering arms.
And only on Oct. 9, Russia had said that if NATO deployed so-called infrastructure to Georgia it would destabilise the region. At a meeting between Georgian and Russian officials in Geneva, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that it was concerned about reports that NATO was moving kit into the region.
“Such actions would create a threat to emerging stability in the Transcaucasus region,” the Russian foreign ministry said.
In general, relations between the two neighbours have improved since former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili lost power last year. Georgia, though, has been heavily critical of Russia’s alleged support of Ukraine rebels and it has increased its rhetoric about joining NATO.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An estimated 10,000 people rallied against Armenia’s government in central Yerevan, media reported, the biggest protest since a presidential election last year.
Opposition rallies, calling for the government to resign, are relatively commonplace in Yerevan. The issue is whether they turn violent or grow so large that the government has to react to them.
In 2008, eight people died in clashes between the security forces and demonstrators after elections.
The protest in Yerevan was the culmination of severally carefully choreographed anti-government demonstrations around the country.
And the protagonists were the same. Former president Levon Ter-Petrosian, a canny opponent for current president Serzh Sargsyan, addressed the crowd. He is credited with whipping up the anger that led to the clashes in 2008.
The protesters actual demand are hard to decipher. They, broadly, want their lives improved and the economy strengthen. No easy task for the government which is having to navigate the country through a tricky economic environment.
What is different now is the opposition’s cry that moving into Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union and away from the European Union is partly to blame for the general malaise. If the opposition can harness this, they may make more headway.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh government said it would restructure Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna in order to generate $11.2b in sales and savings.
Costs will be cut and unwanted assets sold off through the much vaunted, but still-to-emerge, People’s IPO.
The government wants to half the number of companies administered by the fund and sell up to 10% in selected strategic national companies such as electric grid operator KEGOC, energy holding Samruk-Energo, railroad major Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, and the national nuclear agency KazAtomProm.
Samruk-Kazyna is the main tool through which the Kazakh government controls companies. The fund accounts for 10.5% of Kazakhstan’s GDP and its assets are valued at $100b.
The timing of such a large restructuring is important. Economic growth rates across the region have been halved over the past few months as Russia’s sanction-hit economy tips into recession.
It may just have been time to for the Kazakh government to get serious about cutting costs and raising revenue.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s rebel region of Abkhazia will sign a treaty with Russia to bolster its military. Only Russia and a handful of its close allies recognise Abkhazia. By bolstering its military, Abkhazia threatens to antagonise ties with Georgia.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – As part of Kyrgyzstan’s move towards membership of the Russia-led Customs Union, it has started preparing to export processed meat to Russia, media reported.
This is, potentially, significant as it shows just how the Customs Union, which turns into the Eurasian Economic Union, can help the poorer parts of the former Soviet Union.
It also shows how Russia is looking to its neighbours and allies for economic support to help it cope with the sanctions that the West has thrown over it.
Armenian cheese producers, for example, have said that they could export more cheese to Russia to make up for the shortfall of from France and other parts of the European Union.
Now the Kyrgyz news website 24.kg has quoted the agriculture minister as saying that he had spoken to his Russian counterpart and asked for guidance on bringing the meat processing industry in Kyrgyzstan up to standard for imports to Russia.
“Until now, the export of this product is prohibited. We asked about test batches in order for our businesses to start to explore the markets of Russia in anticipation of entering the Customs Union,” he said.
“The Minister gave a positive response and concluded a verbal agreement.”
Kyrgyzstan intends to join the Eurasian Economic Union, which also includes Belarus and Kazakhstan, next year. Armenia has also agreed to join the bloc.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan has nearly doubled the amount of coal it has mined so far this year, media reported. The increase was needed to meet a surge in demand created by industries switching from gas to coal for power. The boost in demand for coal should also increase employment in Tajikistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia will erect a statue of the Russian designer of the Kalashnikov rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, in the northern town of Gyuimri, the eurasianet.org website reported. Gyuimri is the site of the Russian military base. Kalashnikov died in 2013. Russians consider his rifle to be one of their greatest inventions.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh economy minister Yerbolat Dossayev refuted speculation the Central Bank was planning to devalue the tenge again this year, media reported. Kazakhstan’s economy has stalled since sanctions started to bite Russia. Kazakhstan has already devalued its currency by 20%.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
OCT. 10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A planned opposition demonstration in central Dushanbe failed to materialise after the authorities blocked websites and social media outlets and used a riot exercise as a show of force.
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(News report from Issue No. 204, published on Oct. 15 2014)
Exiled opposition figures have called for a change of government.