Tag Archives: international relations

Russia gives Kyrgyzstan $500m

AUG.12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has agreed to give Kyrgyzstan $500m to prepare for joining the Customs Union. Kyrgyzstan is hoping to join the Customs Union, which will morph into the Eurasian Economic Union, later this year. Belarus and Kazakhstan are already members.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Turkmen-Pakistan ties improve

AUG. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The TAPI gas pipeline that is planned to run from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India is already influencing regional trade links. At a meeting in Ashgabat to discuss progress on the project, Pakistan and Turkmenistan also agreed to improve bilateral ties.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Putin mediates in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

AUG.10 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted talks between Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.Fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh has intensified over the past few weeks threatening a 1994 cease-fire.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Georgia responds to US criticism

AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili responded to criticism from US senators that Georgia was unfairly prosecuting former president Mikheil Saakashvili for abuse of power by saying his prosecution would create a more equal society.The US, Georgia’s most important ally, has said charges against Mr Saakashvili are politically motivated.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Georgian defence minister flies to Kabul

AUG.11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian defence minister Irakli Alasania flew to Kabul to meet his Afghan counterpart and sign various memorandums agreeing to broaden cooperation. The visit and the agreements underline Georgia’s desire to help Afghanistan and curry favour with the US. It wants to join NATO and is using its military as an extension of its diplomatic corps.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Georgia responds to US criticism

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 195, published on Aug. 13 2014)

Uzbekistan detains Tajik shepherds

AUG. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan’s military detained five Tajik shepherds and their livestock for a week after they strayed into Uzbek territory, media reported, briefly heightening tension between the two neighbours. Uzbekistan- Tajikistan relations are particularly important to monitor for stability in Central Asia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)

Kyrgyzstan rows with Belarus

AUG. 5 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan complained to Belarus after reports circulated it had awarded Kurmanbek Bakiyev, a former Kyrgyz president living in Minsk since fleeing in a revolution in 2010, one of its highest awards. A row with Belarus may have implications for Kyrgyzstan’s entry into the Russia-led Customs Union. Belarus and Kazakhstan are already members.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 194, published on Aug. 6 2014)

Blair to advise BP on Azerbaijan’s energy

JULY 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – BP said it had hired former British PM Tony Blair for its advisory board on how best to export energy from the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe. Mr Blair has been an adviser to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev since 2011.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)

Armenia to join CU in October

JULY 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian PM Ovik Abramian confirmed that Armenia would join the Russia- led Customs Union by the end of October. Armenia has been looking to join the Customs Union for some time. Kazakhstan, though, raised concerns about its ongoing so-called “frozen conflict” with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)