Tag Archives: international relations

Putin to head to Astana summit

MARCH 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to Central Asia for his first overseas trip since re-emerging into public view.

He is due to fly to Astana for a summit with his Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts on March 20.

The meeting was postponed from March 13. Kazakh officials at first said that the meeting had been delayed because Mr Putin was ill. Russian officials denied this, keeping people guessing on just why he cancelled several appointments and disappeared for a few days without explanation.

And Central Asia has played a prominent role in the episode. Mr Putin used a brief video with visiting Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev on March 16 to show the world that he was not hiding. He previous public appearance had been on March 5.

The summit with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has also stirred controversy, although this time not by Mr Putin.

It appeared to be a meeting of the heads of state of the Eurasian Economic Union members, except that the group’s newest member, Armenia, was missing.

This set off rumours that Armenia had grown increasingly disinterested in the Russia-led group since joining in January, especially given the context of the increasingly painful economic downturn.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has had to step in and reassure both Russia and the general public that this was not the case. Instead, he said, the meeting just didn’t include Armenia.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Putin due to fly to Astana

MARCH 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin is due to fly to Astana on March 20 for a meeting with his Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts, his first overseas trip since he disappeared from public view for a few days. Mr Putin’s disappearance sparked speculation that he was ill.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Georgians relish rugby win over Russia

TBILISI, March 14 2015 (The Bulletin) – “We love rugby. We love Lelos!” a crowd of almost 30,000 roared when Georgia scored yet another try in the final minutes of this Georgia-Russia rugby match.

The final score against Russia was a crushing 33-0 win. Georgia’s Lelos — named after lelo, a Georgian folk sport similar to rugby — haven’t lost to Russia’s Bears since 1993, a run of wins that their fans will gleefully tell you about.

Georgia has a strong rugby team and will play against New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Namibia in this year’s World Cup in England.

Although the head coach of the Lelos, New Zealander Milton Haig, has said there is no difference who the opponent is, it is clear for the crowd that it matters. They want to see Georgia beat, smash even, the Russian team.

For the match against Russia, Tbilisi’s Mikheil Meskhi stadium was packed with Georgian fans, waiting for Georgia to crush Russia in front of their eyes. People also waved Ukrainian blue and yellow flags, underlining the anti-Russian feeling in the crowd.

On the rugby pitch, at least, Georgia and Ukraine can get their own back at Russia.

Last year Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and has been sponsoring rebels in the east of the country in an ongoing civil war. In 2008, Russia defeated Georgia in a small war which concreted its control over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“It’s solidarity,” explained a young Georgian fan, before joining the crowd shouting “Putin khuylo!” and “Abkhazia is ours!”. The Kremlin has tighten its grip over parts of Georgia this year but Georgian rugby fans can still relish in their superiority over Russia.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Pakistan wants closer gas ties with Uzbekistan

MARCH 13 2015 (The Bulletin) – Pakistan wants to increase energy cooperation with Uzbekistan, media reported, a potential boost for the Uzbek oil and gas sector.
Western energy companies such as London-listed Tethys Petroleum are gradually exiting Uzbekistan because of a worsening business environment.

Pakistan is also lobbying for Uzbekistan to participate in the TAPI pipeline project that would bring Turkmen gas to India, passing through Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Uzbekneftegaz, the national oil and gas company in Uzbekistan, annually produces 63b cubic metres (bcm) of gas mostly for domestic consumption.

The government has a plan to increase both production and exports and to reduce wasteful use by 2020. The aim to export up to 16bcm by 2020 is well short of Uzbekistan’s regional commitments.

Notwithstanding the declining demand in Russia for Uzbek gas, China is asking for 10bcm and Pakistan’s demands might just be impossible to meet.

Furthermore, the TAPI project has proved to be a difficult one to realise and the timeline for its completion in 2017 is still under review.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Pakistan hails relations with Azerbaijan

MARCH 14 2015 (The Bulletin) – Pakistan’s president Mamnoon Hussein hailed talks with President Ilham Aliyev in Baku as a milestone in relations between the two countries.

Importantly for Azerbaijan, Mr Hussein underlined Pakistan’s support for Azerbaijan’s stance over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenian-backed rebels have controlled the region since a UN-brokered 1994 ceasefire.

“We’ve always supported Azerbaijan’s stance, which we think is the right one,” he said.
Increasing support for its drive to win back the region of Nagorno-Karabakh is a key foreign policy plank for Azerbaijan.

Trade and diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan are currently light and Pakistan’s main interest is probably in securing much needed energy supplies.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Putin signs treaty with S.Ossetia

MARCH 18 2015 (The Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a treaty with the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia that underlined the Kremlin’s alliance with the rebel state. Georgia has previously said Russian moves to solidify its hold on South Ossetia and Abkhazia are a breach of international law.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

Kazakhstan bans Russian oil products

MARCH 4 2015 (The Bulletin) – Kazakhstan banned the import of light oil products from Russia for 45 days from March 5 . The measure was brought in to stem the flow of Russian oil products, made cheaper by the fall in the value of the rouble, and to protect jobs and business at Kazakh refineries.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)

Iran says to open customs houses in Armenia

MARCH 10 2015 (The Bulletin) – Iran is planning on opening a customs house in Armenia to try and bolster trade between the two neighbours, media reported (March 10). Both Armenia and Iran are short of regional allies and need to develop relations.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)

Iran and Turkmenistan extend partnership deals

MARCH 10 2015 (The Bulletin) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani flew to Ashgabat for the start of a two-day state visit that underlined the improved relations between the two neighbours.

Turkmenistan and Iran have been developing their ties over the past few years. Iran is a client for Turkmenistan’s gas.

At a round table meeting at the presidential palace in Ashgabat on Wednesday, Mr Rouhani and Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov shook hands, smiled and exchanged pleasantries.

“Iranian and Turkmen governments have always tried in the path of development and welfare of their countries as well as preserving and expansion of peace and security in the world,” Mr Berdymukhamedov said according to Iranian media reports from the meeting.
News reports were vague but they suggested that Turkmenistan and Iran had signed a series of deals that extended their trade and energy cooperation.

Mr Rouhani said: “Officials of both countries are aware of the importance of such relations and both believe in bringing into play all capacities to expand the ties comprehensively.”

The meeting was important because the international community is currently trying to decide to what extent it should deal with Iran. Some consider Mr Rouhani to be a more moderate and reasonable leader to work with, others have said that Iran is still a rogue state that wants to build a nuclear weapon.”
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)

Tajik opposition leader killed in Istanbul

MARCH 5 2015 (The Bulletin) – Umarali Kuvatov, leader of the banned Tajik opposition Group 24, was shot dead in Istanbul after leaving a dinner which his family later said had also been poisoned.

Opposition groups immediately accused Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon and his associates of being linked in the murder. He has not commented.

Turkish police later detained three Tajik nationals in connection with the murder.
A successful businessman, Kuvatov had once been an ally of President Rakhmon. He fled Tajikistan in 2012. Last year, the authorities in Tajikistan banned Group 24 from holding an anti-government rally and also accused it of trying to stage a coup. Its activists in Tajikistan have been arrested and jailed.

Facts around Kuvatov’s murder are murky but he is thought to have died from a single gunshot to the head after leaving a dinner at the home of another Tajik. His family said they had also been poisoned at the dinner.

Kuvatov’s murder comes only a few days after the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow. Unlike Nemtsov, though, Kuvatov was considered far more of a fringe player in Tajik opposition circles.

Even so, for Tajikistan’s opposition, the murder rids it of a characteristic and wealthy figure to challenge President Rakhmon and his iron-like grip on power.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)