NOV. 3 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — The US renewed a lucrative jet fuel contract for its airbase in Kyrgyzstan with oil trading company Mina Corp. The current Kyrgyz administration views Mina Corp. with suspicion because of its links to ousted President Kurmanbek Bakieyev and had asked the US to revoke the contract.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 14, published on Nov. 8 2010)
NOV. 8 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Since Mikheil Saakashvili became Georgia’s president in 2004, the US has considered Georgia its most reliable ally in the South Caucasus.
But this year Georgia, perhaps worried by US President Barack Obama’s drive to mend ties with Russia which it fought in a 2008 war, has steadily improved relations with one of the US’ biggest enemies — Iran.
Iran has also been on a determined charm offensive in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Facing increasing international isolation over its nuclear development programme, Iran has reached out to its former Soviet neighbours — especially Azerbaijan and Tajikistan — and visits regularly for talks on trade and cultural affairs.
On Nov. 3, Iran’s foreign finister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Tbilisi. Alongside improving air links between Tehran and Tbilisi and dropping visa requirements, Iran will open up a consulate in the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi, a favoured holiday destination for Iranians. Iran already pays Georgia for electricity supplies and, importantly for Georgia, has refused to recognise the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
This budding friendship is likely to irritate the US which suspects Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. It has already expressed displeasure at Iranian overtures in the South Caucasus.
On Oct. 19, a few days after Iran’s defence minister visited Azerbaijan, the US sent a senior Treasury Department official to Baku to warn Azerbaijan against improving ties with Tehran.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 14, published on Nov. 8 2010)
NOV. 5 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s government confirmed it had detained 13 people spying for Russia, including four Russian nationals. A senior
intelligence official told news agencies six of the detained were pilots and one was a navy radio operator. Georgia made the detentions in October. Russia has called it a provocation.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 14, published on Nov. 8 2010)
OCT. 27 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s President Dmitri Medvedev said he was “hopeful” Armenia and Azerbaijan could reach the outlines of a peace agreement over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Mr Medvedev was speaking after hosting a meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)
OCT. 21 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia’s President Dmitri Medvedev visited Ashgabat for talks with Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov focused on gas contracts. Mr Medvedev said that due to low global demand, Gazprom did not need to restore its 40b cubic metres (bcm) annual order for Turkmen gas which it cut to about 11bcm after an argument over pricing in 2009.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)
OCT. 27 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed deals worth over $2b with French President Nikolas Sarkozy in Paris. Aerospace manufacturer EADS will form a joint venture to build helicopters in Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan will buy 300 trains from engineering groups Alstom and nuclear energy company KazAtomProm will form a joint venture with Areva.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)
OCT. 29 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — A source in Georgia’s security service told Reuters it had arrested 20 Georgian citizens for spying for Russia. Government officials declined to confirm or deny the report. Georgia and Russia have been involved in a number of spy rows over recent years which have soured relations.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 13, published on Nov. 1 2010)
Oct. 21 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek President Islam Karimov visited Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov for two days of talks starting on Oct. 19. He was followed on Oct. 21 by Russian President Dmitri Medvedev for separate meetings with Mr Berdymukhamedov.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 12, published on Oct. 21 2010)
OCT. 19 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Relations between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have blossomed recently and on Oct. 19 Uzbek President Islam Karimov arrived in Ashgabat for a two day visit, his second trip in 10 months.
Mr Karimov last visited in Dec. 2009 for the opening of a gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan to China via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. As if to highlight strengthening Uzbek-Turkmen friendship, Mr Karimov’s press office said trade in 2009 between the two neighbours had increased by 40%.
But relations haven’t always been this cosy and only since Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov took over as Turkmenistan’s president in 2006, have links visibly improved.
There was little official detail on what was discussed but talks were likely to have focused on NATO’s war in Afghanistan, gas export prices and shared concern about the growing influence of Russia in Central Asia — Kazakhstan has joined a Customs Union with Russia and Belarus and an election in Kyrgyzstan handed pro-Russia parties the balance of power — as well as concern at the development of upstream hydropower plants in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
According to Mr Karimov’s press office, the potential of a transport corridor from Central Asia to the Middle East was also on the agenda.
Combined, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have clout in the region. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are major gas, gold and cotton exporters and they hold nearly half of Central Asia’s roughly 60m people.
Karimov’s visit was also well timed. The day after he left, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev arrived in Ashgabat for his own talks with Mr Berdymukhamedov.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 12, published on Oct. 21 2010)
OCT. 18 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia withdrew its forces from a town in Georgia it had occupied since a war in 2008. News agencies quoted a Georgian spokesman saying Georgia’s forces had moved into Perevi, outside the breakaway region of South Ossetia, after Russian soldiers voluntarily withdrew.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 12, published on Oct. 21 2010)