JUNE 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian gas monopoly Gazprom appointed Timur Kulibayev, the favoured son-in-law of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, as one of its directors. Mr Kulibayev was appointed head of Kazakhstan’s $80b sovereign wealth fund earlier this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JULY 6 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia formalised a deal with Armenia to extend a lease on perhaps its most important military base in the South Caucasus until 2044, Russian media reported. Thousands of Russian soldiers, aircraft and missiles will remain in the base at Gyumri, about 100km north of Yerevan. In the deal, Russia will supply military equipment to Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JULY 5 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – A gun battle between Iranian and Azerbaijani forces on July 3 killed an Azerbaijani soldier and injured several more, Iranian media quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying. The spokesperson said Azerbaijani forces had strayed into Iran. She said the gunfight would not strain Iran-Azerbaijan relations.
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(News report from Issue No. 47, published on July 6 2011)
JUNE 24 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh Prosecutor-General has asked the Austrian authorities to extradite Rakhat Aliyev, President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s former son-in-law, media reported. Mr Aliyev has been living in Vienna since 2007. He is accused of involvement in the murder of two bank managers, allegations he denies.
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(News report from Issue No. 46, published on June 28 2011)
JUNE 24 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Despite promising signs before the summit in Kazan, central Russia, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan failed to agree on a peace deal over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. A 1994 ceasefire has maintained a shaky peace over Nagorno- Karabakh although soldiers from both sides die in shootouts every month.
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(News report from Issue No. 46, published on June 28 2011)
JUNE 23 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Central Asia is facing a drought that will not only hit cotton and food production but also heighten tension across the region, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said. UNDP said that Water levels are a third lower than average in important reservoirs in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 46, published on June 28 2011)
JUNE 16 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In an interview with the BBC’s Russian service, Armenian PM Tigran Sargsyan said he wanted to restore links with Turkey without any pre-conditions. Mr Sargsyan’s comments could be an important trigger to re-start negotiations on establishing ties between the countries. Talks have stalled since a 2009 deal.
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(News report from Issue No. 45, published on June 21 2011)
JUNE 21 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – More confusion over whether the Pacific nation of Vanuatu has recognised the rebel Georgian state of Abkhazia as independent. Media reported that a new PM in Vanuatu had withdrawn recognition of Abkhazia’s independence only days after its foreign minister had declared new diplomatic ties with the Black Sea region.
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(News report from Issue No. 45, published on June 21 2011)
JUNE 17 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps sensitive to descriptions of Tajikistan as a failed state, a deputy in the Tajik parliament asked for a video game depicting fictional Chinese and US anti-terrorist operations in the country to be banned, media reported. The video game had been released earlier this year.
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(News report from Issue No. 45, published on June 21 2011)
JUNE 15 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan hosted the 10th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a Central Asian security organisation lead by Russia and China. Heads of states and senior officials from India, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan joined leaders from the SCO member states for the meeting.
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(News report from Issue No. 45, published on June 21 2011)