MARCH 6 2015 (The Bulletin) – Russia started military exercises in the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, a show of force that Georgia’s government said was provocative. The Kremlin earlier this year signed a military pact with Abkhazia that also ratcheted up tension in the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 11 2015 (The Bulletin) – Gas production in Turkmenistan, critical for the country’s economic welfare, jumped by 5.2% during the first two months of the year, media reported quoting the Turkmen energy ministry. Turkmenistan has the fourth largest gas reserves in the world. Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has said that he wants to boost gas production to offset the impact of a growing financial crisis.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 5 2015 (The Bulletin) – Uzbekistan has signed an investment deal with the United Arab Emirates worth a reported $120m, media said. The deals, reports said, would focus on joint investment projects. Uzbekistan has been looking to tap into the Gulf States for investment.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 11 2015 (The Bulletin) – Azerbaijani officials have asked their EU counterparts to speed up the authorisation of Azerbaijan’s purchase in 2013 of a 66% stake in DESFA, Greece’s gas pipeline network, for $423m. The European Commission is investigating the potential takeover for any breeches of competition rules.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 10 2015 (The Bulletin) – Japan has made a grant of about $4.2m available to the Tbilisi city government to purchase electric buses, media reported. The deal is important because it shows Japan’s continued interested in developing links with the region and Tbilisi’s drive to update its public transport system.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 11 2015 (The Bulletin) – Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain was due to fly into Baku for talks with Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev. Media said that several bilateral deals would be signed. Pakistan is looking for extra energy resources and views Central Asia and the South Caucasus as potential suppliers.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 4 2015 (The Bulletin) – The price of staple foods in Georgia is rising, media reported. Interpressnews.ge said cooking oil, buckwheat, sugar, salt and other goods have all increased in price because of the devaluation of the Georgian lari. Economists have been warning that weakening economic conditions could trigger inflation.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 11 2015 (The Bulletin) – Underlining his credentials as a far more outward looking leader than his predecessor, Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said he would travel to Japan for a UN conference on disaster reduction. He’ll likely make time to meet with Japanese officials to improve relations too.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 4 2015 (The Bulletin) – The highest court in France rejected an appeal by lawyers of former Kazakh opposition figure Mukhtar Ablyazov against his extradition to either Ukraine or Russia . This decision paves the way for a governmental decree to extradite Ablyazov who is wanted by Kazakhstan on various charges.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 8 2015 (The Bulletin) – Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the Speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament, Oqtay Asadov, and presidential adviser Ali Hasanov the Friendship Order, one of Russia’s highest civic awards.
Opposition groups in Azerbaijan immediately denounced the award as a crude attempt by Russia to curry favour with Azerbaijan.
Despite rows over energy policy, Azerbaijan has seemingly been shifting its political stance towards Russia over the past few years. The West has accused Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev of cracking down on dissent and free media.
In a comment on Facebook, Natig Jafarli, a senior figure in Azerbaijan’s opposition ReAL movement, said the government was getting closer to Russia.
“Imagine what would have happened if Barack Obama gave an award to opposition leaders. They would have been called betrayers and fifth columnists,” he wrote.
There was no official reaction from Azerbaijan’s government on the awards to Mr Hasanov and Mr Asadov.
The pro-government news website APA reported that they had been “Ogtay Asadov and A. Hasanov is (sic) awarded the order for greatly contributing to the strengthening of friendship and cooperation with the Russia Federation.”
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)