Tag Archives: international relations

Austrian minister says Georgia should take refugees

TBILISI, MARCH 5 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Austria’s foreign minister Sebastian Kurz shocked the Georgian government by suggesting in an interview with the German magazine Bild that refugee centres could be set up in Georgia.

The Austrian government later played down the statement as purely hypothetical but not before it had caused consternation in Georgia.

Georgia’s foreign ministry released a statement which said that it was not possible for the country to take in refugees.

“The issue is not on the agenda of Georgia as the implementation of this project is impossible due to the challenges currently facing the country,” the statement said.

Mr Kurz has become popular in Austria for his hardline stance over the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have travelled to Europe from Syria and elsewhere since 2015.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

Uzbekistan’s Mirziyoyev chooses Turkmenistan for first foreign trip

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MARCH 6/7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev travelled to Turkmenistan, his first overseas trip as Uzbekistan’s leader, opening a new railway bridge and pledging to boost cooperation in the energy sector.

By visiting Ashgabat ahead of other potential first stops as president, Mr Mirziyoyev sends a strong signal that he wants to improve relations with Turkmenistan which had been functional rather than particularly friendly under his predecessor, Islam Karimov.

And the good vibes and determination to get on and improve bilateral relations appeared to be mutual. Both Mr Mirziyoyev and Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov smiled broadly during the opening of a new railway bridge crossing the arid landscape around the Amu-Darya river near the border town of Turkmenabat.

It will replace a bridge built in 1901. They also unveiled a new bust of Karimov, who died in September.

In a statement, the Uzbek government said: “The President of our country underlined that these bridges symbolise the friendship of our peoples and have a geo-strategic significance not only for Turkmenistan, but also for the whole region.”

It’s in the interests of both Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to promote trade with their southern neighbours. They want to develop a route south to the Gulf states to send gas, wheat and cotton.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

SCO chief: India & Pakistan will join within three months

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ALMATY, MARCH 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — India and Pakistan could become members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) by June, its Secretary-General Rashid Alimov said in a message that will raise concern in the West about the growing influence of the Russia and China-led security and economic alliance.

If, or perhaps when, India and Pakistan, join the SCO it will give the organisation leverage over roughly 40% of the world’s population and extend its geographical focus away from Central Asia towards South Asia.

Mr Alimov, Tajikistan’s former ambassador to Beijing who has been heading the SCO’s secretariat since 2016, put out the statement on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.

There has been no official confirmation of Mr Alimov’s message but last year both Pakistan and India did sign an agreement pledging to join the six member group by the end of 2017. On June 8/9, the SCO plans to hold its annual summit in Astana.

Some analysts in the West have previously likened the SCO to an Asian version of NATO, set up to act as an alternative global rallying point to the West. Other observers have said that the comparison is off the mark and that the SCO is a long way off being as developed a military alliance as NATO.

Alongside Russia and China, the SCO members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia also have ‘observer’ status in the SCO, which is headquartered in Beijing and was set up in 2001.

The SCO holds war exercises, hosts diplomatic and governmental get-togethers and shares intelligence between members. It also promotes economic cooperation, allowing China to invest in Central Asia.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

EU grants visa-free access to Georgia

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FEB 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The EU’s Schengen region officially scrapped visas for Georgians, a major policy victory for Georgia’s government. Georgians are now able to visit the 26-country Schengen Zone without a visa.

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(News report from Issue No. 319, published on March 3 2017)

Armenia drives to attract Iranians

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FEB. 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Armenian authorities have started discussing setting up Farsi learning centres, installing bill- boards aimed at Farsi speakers and a Farsi information hotline. Media reported the Farsi-language drive was a tactic to encourage more Iranians to visit Armenia.

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(News report from Issue No. 319, published on March 3 2017)

New Syria talks to take place in Kazakhstan

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MARCH 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The next round of talks aimed at ending a civil war in Syria are planned for Astana on March 14, media reported. This is the continuation of a series of talks this year in Astana involving Syrian rebels, forces loyal to Syrian president Bashir al-Assad, Russia, Turkey and Iran. For Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev the talks have been useful in bolstering Kazakhstan’s international profile.

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(News report from Issue No. 319, published on March 3 2017)

Russian diplomat flees after car crash in Kyrgyzstan

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FEB. 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The first secretary of Russia’s embassy in Bishkek fled Kyrgyzstan days after driving his car through a red light and smashing it into a lorry, killing the driver. Bishkekers reacted with anger after news that Viktor Pukhov had been allowed to leave Kyrgyzstan for Russia was reported in local media.

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)

Kyrgyz president complains about Kazakhstan

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FEB. 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an interview with Euronews, Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev directly criticised his neighbour Kazakhstan for imposing what he described as an economic blockade in 2010. He was discussing why Kyrgyzstan joined the Kremlin-lead Eurasian Economic Union, a trade group that has grown unpopular in Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan responded to the accusation of an economic blockade by filing an official complaint. Relations between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have become fraught over trade rows.

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan cancel flight at last minute

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DUSHANBE, FEB. 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — After months of build- up and a successful dry-run, the start of a regular commercial flight between Dushanbe and Tashkent was cancelled at the last minute.

Both sides blamed the other for cancelling what would have been the first regular service between the Tajik and Uzbek capitals for 25 year and a tangible sign that relations between the two countries had started to improve after years of feuding.

Somon Air, Tajikistan’s main airline, was due to make the flight, a repeat of a one-off flight it made earlier this month. It said that Tashkent airport had contacted it and said that permission to make the flight had been withdrawn for security reasons. Tashkent airport denied this and said that the flight had been cancelled because Somon Air had failed to submit the correct paper- work in time.

Having tried to pin the blame on Tashkent airport for the flight failing to fly, Somon Air then admitted it had been at fault and promised to make the flight over the “next few days”.

Media later report that Somon Air had fired Alisher Rustamov, director of commercial operations, for failing to ensure that the flight took off.

Relations between Uzbekistan and its neighbours have improved markedly since Shavkat Mirziyoyev became president at the end of last year. His predecessor, Islam Karimov, was known to be cantankerous and relations with his neighbours had soured during his presidency. He died in September 2016 and his daughter, Gulnara, who had harboured ambitions to succeed him, was sidelined.

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)

Central Asian leaders prepare to welcome Russian president Putin

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BISHKEK, FEB. 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to visit Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on Feb. 27/28.

In Astana Mr Putin will bolster President Nursultan Nazarbayev who has taken an increasingly tough line on opposition figures and also against the media. In Dushanbe, Mr Putin is likely to discuss Tajikistan’s eventual membership of the Krem- lin-lead Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) with President Emomali Rakhmon.

But Bishkek will be the most complicated stopover for My Putin. There he will discuss a presidential election in November and the EEU.

“Possibly, the Kyrgyz authorities’ candidate will be chosen with the Kremlin, as loyalty to the President of Russia is important,” Bishkek based political analyst Mars Sariyev told media.

And then there is the issue of the EEU which Kyrgyzstan grudgingly joined in 2015. It’s popularity has waned as an economic downturn has bitten. Businessmen said import tariffs and sanitary certificates needed to export to EEU members had become a barrier for exports of clothes, meat, vegetables, and dairy products.

At Bishkek’s Dordoi bazaar, one of the biggest in Central Asia, opinion was mixed. Most complained but one trader saw it differently. He said that the EEU was also positive for some aspects of business.

“The only benefit is the fast growth of local textile manufacturers,” he said.

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)