Tag Archives: international relations

Lukashenko visits Azerbaijan

NOV. 21 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — At first glance the visit of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to Baku on Nov. 20/21 was unremarkable.

Mr Lukashenko met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, exchanged pleasantries, pledged to bolster economic cooperation and, finally, opened a Belarusian embassy in Baku. All standard enough for presidents in the former Soviet area.

But the two countries relationship is, actually, becoming more significant on a global scale. Their shared problem is Russia which, prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, was their colonial overlord.

Belarus has had to deal with a number of economic rows with Russia over the years, most recently over potash, a mineral used to produce fertiliser.

It is a member of the Russia-led Customs Union but it still clashes with its larger neighbour over gas and other trade issues.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia are even more strained. They have argued over gas supplies and Russia’s military support for Azerbaijan’s arch enemy Armenia.

If a relationship between two countries can be measured in terms of trade, the Belarus-Azerbaijan relationship would be booming. Media reported that trade between the two countries had increased six-fold since 2006.

Azerbaijan assembles various Belarusian trucks and tractors for the local market, key exports from Belarus, but the relationship has prospered recently mainly due to weapons and energy.

And at the core of these issues is Russia.

To reduce its dependency on Russian energy, Belarus imports gas from Azerbaijan. To counter Russia’s support for Armenia, Azerbaijan imports weapons from Belarus.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

Uzbek delegation visits London

NOV. 21 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — An Uzbek delegation led by foreign minister Abulaziz Kamilov visited Britain for talks on further cooperation and the situation in Afghanistan. Despite concerns over its human rights record, NATO is cooperating with Uzbekistan to withdraw its military equipment from neighbouring Afghanistan next year.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

Azerbaijan welcomes Iran talks

NOV. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said it welcomed the relaxation of international sanctions on its neighbour Iran. Iran and a group of five countries led by the US held negotiations in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear programme. In return for relaxing sanctions, Iran agreed to throttle back its uranium enrichment programme.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)

Azerbaijan and Armenia meet in Vienna

NOV. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met in Vienna for the first time in nearly two year to discuss the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two leaders last met to specifically discuss Nagorno-Karabakh in June 2011. No details of their discussion were released.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

Uzbekistan builds ties with EU members

NOV. 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan and Latvia appear to be getting cosy.

First, Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s visited Latvia in October, his first trip to the EU since Jan. 2011, and now Uzbekistan has hosted an Uzbek-Latvian business forum in Tashkent.

But Uzbekistan’s new improved relations with the EU doesn’t stop with Latvia. The next day a delegation from the Polish government held talks with the Uzbek government.

And to top off this flurry of EU wooing, media reports said that on Nov. 15 the Uzbek foreign ministry invited Yuri Strek, head of the EU delegation in Uzbekistan, to discuss bilateral ties.

Several years of EU-imposed economic sanctions and arms embargoes failed to yield any real improvement on human rights in Uzbekistan. The EU imposed the sanctions after Uzbek soldiers shot and killed hundreds of civilians in the town of Andijan in 2005. Uzbekistan has said the attack was targeted against Islamic insurgents.

Over the past few years, though, realpolitik has gained the ascendancy. Brussels first lifted travel sanctions on Uzbek officials and then invited Uzbek president Islam Karimov to visit the EU and NATO headquarters.

The EU needs Uzbekistan as a trade partner and an ally to help withdraw NATO soldiers from Afghanistan. Uzbekistan needs the EU to boost its international standing and to play off Russian and Chinese influence.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

Uzbekistan not to join Customs Union

NOV. 15 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The head of the Uzbek parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Sadiq Safayev, poured cold water on Russian reports that Uzbekistan was considering joining the Moscow-led Customs Union. Uzbekistan is interested in developing bilateral relations with Russia but not in join the Customs Union, media quoted Mr Safayev as saying.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

Kazakhstan expands diplomatic ties

NOV. 14 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan opened embassies in South Africa and Vietnam, continuing its diplomatic roll our across the world. The next day Kazakhstan gained observer status at the African Union, the continent’s main political bloc, in Addis Ababa.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

Iran accuses Azerbaijan of torture

NOV. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran has accused Azerbaijan of torturing one of its citizens, Iranian media reported. The accusation that Azerbaijani security forces arrested Iranian Hassan Faraji then tortured him may inflame tension between Azerbaijan and Iran. Azerbaijan has previously accused Iran of plotting bomb attacks in Baku.

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

Russia upgrades base in Tajikistan

NOV. 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia will upgrade and strengthen its military base in Tajikistan to coincide with the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, media reported quoting Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister. Russia has said it is worried about the spread north of the Taliban once US-led forces leave Afghanistan.

(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)

Russian oil transits through Kazakhstan

NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The deal has been in the making all year. It’s still not there, yet, but it is close.

Rosneft, a Russian energy company, signed a preliminary deal with Kazakh energy company Kazmunaigas and oil pipeline monopoly KazTransOil to transit oil to China.

A final deal is expected by the end of the year.

Russia is increasing exports to China but it has run out of pipeline capacity. Kazakhstan has invested hugely in expanding its pipeline network and has excess capacity so, for a fee, it has agreed to pump Russian oil east.

The deal is important because it further cements the Russia-Kazakhstan alliance; Kazakhstan is a member of Russia’s Customs Union and the two countries are integrating their defence systems.

It also highlights the importance of Kazakhstan’s pipeline infrastructure to China. Without it, China’s oil supply would be weaker.

Media reported that Russia plans, currently, to pump 140,000 barrels per day through Kazakhstan’s pipeline network. This, though, is expected to rise.

The final details have yet to be worked out but this is significant news.

(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)