NOV. 8 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s military test fired a Chinese FD-2000 missile system that media said was based on Russia’s S-300 surface-to-air system. The missile test shows how China is making in-roads into every aspect of Central Asia’s government, economy and military. Previously, former Soviet states almost exclusively bought military kit from Russia.
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— This story was first published in issue 428 of the weekly Bulletin
FEB. 1 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia has bought four Su-30SM fighter jets from Russia for an undisclosed amount, media reported saying that it was the first time in “many years” that the Armenian military had bought new fighter jets rather than second-hand ones. The fighter jets should be delivered by 2020. Armenia is still officially at war with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019
JAN. 15 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan has started registering reservists because of concerns over militants in neighbouring Afghanistan, sources at the ministry of defence told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Turkmenistan has periodically raised concerns over fighting in neighbouring provinces in Afghanistan. In 2015, President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered all reservists to undertake their first mass military exercise since the 1991 break up of the Soviet Union. This was repeated in 2016, and in 2017 he signed another decree calling up for military service all men over the age of 18.
Analysts have said that Turkmen officials are concerned about worsening stability on their southern border with Afghanistan.
The RFE/RL source said that men under 50 had been told to register with the military. Turkmenistan is officially neutral.
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>>This story was first published in issue 397 of The Conway Bulletin on Jan. 20 2019
JAN. 15 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov inspected the first batch of military equipment donated by Russia to the Kyrgyz border guard service. It had been delivered a month earlier and consisted of 125 off-road vehicles, 108 trucks, four ambulances and a handful of other vehicles. The kit is to be deployed on the Eurasian Economic Union’s borders with China, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
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>>This story was first published in issue 397 of The Conway Bulletin on Jan. 20 2019
TBILISI/JAN. 11 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has become the first foreign buyer of Israel’s so-called suicide drone, the Jerusalem Post reported. Relations between Azerbaijan and Israel have blossomed in recent years with Israel buying Azerbaijan oil and gas and Azerbaijan buying Israeli weapons. Azerbaijan is still officially at war with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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>>This story was first published in issue 397 of The Conway Bulletin on Jan. 20 2019
SEPT. 25/28 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia and Kyrgyzstan held joint counter-terrorism drills in eastern Kyrgyzstan, part of large series of wargames by CIS member states. Ahead of the exercise, which involved 400 pieces of military hardware, 30 Russian aircraft and a missile defence system, Russian officials said that they were important because of the increased terrorist threat from Afghanistan.
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>>This story was published in issue 387 of The Conway Bulletin on Oct. 1 2018
JULY 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — After a meeting in Washington DC, officials from Kazakhstan and the US signed a deal to extend military cooperation between the two countries until 2022. No details of the cooperation were released although Kazakh and US armies do hold joint exercises. Over the last few years, Kazakhstan has been improving its military deals with Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)
JUNE 24 2017 (The Bulletin) — Russia has sent a batch of new anti- tank missiles to Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani defence ministry said. It released a video of half a dozen mechanised anti-tank vehicles being unloaded in Baku. Russia has previously been accused of propagating a war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh in order to sell more weapons.
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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)
JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbek defence minister Atabek Ibadullayev travelled to Kazakhstan to tour weapons plants in Uralsk which produce armoured vehicles and optical rifles sites. Kazakhstan’s ministry of defence then released a statement which said that although Uzbekistan hadn’t yet purchased any weapons, Mr Ibadullayev had expressed an interest. Kazakh-Uzbek military ties are improving.
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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)
JUNE 12 2017 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijani and Turkish soldiers started a five-day military exercise in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan region, underlining the two neighbours close ties. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey have just finished military exercises with Georgia. Azerbaijan and Turkey are strong allies in trade as well as in military matters. Gas produced in Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea is pumped to Europe through a pipeline hosted by Turkey.
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Copyright ©Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)