Tag Archives: international relations

Belarus deports Russian blogger to Azerbaijan

FEB. 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Belarus extradited Russian travel blogger Alexander Lapshin to Baku to face charges of supporting Armenia- backed rebels in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Free speech activists have said thatMr Lapshin’s arrest and extradition are symptomatic of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev’s authoritarian tendencies.

And in rare move, Russia released a statement criticising the blogger’s arrest.

Mr Lapshin is a relatively popular blogger who is better known for whimsical asides about his travel exploits and his travel pictures rather than his political musings. He travels on three different passports — Russian, Ukrainian and Israeli — and reportedly travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2011 and 2012.

It is not clear why Mr Laphin’s trips to the region would have upset Azerbaijan and its authorities so much.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Georgia tempts rebel areas with EU visa-free access

TBILISI, FEB. 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia was accused of baiting its rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia with its recently won visa-free access to the European Union.

The row is a reminder to the EU that closer ties with Georgia come with attachments to the Georgia Russia stand-off over the two Georgian breakaway states. Georgia and Russia fought a brief war over the two regions less than a decade ago which ended in Russian soldiers temporarily occupying part of Georgia and the Kremlin recognising both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent.

In a speech shortly after the Euro- pean Parliament voted to approve 90-day visa-free access to Georgia and Ukraine to the 26-nation Schengen Area, Georgian PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili said that people living in the breakaway regions could also enjoy the easier access to the EU if they reapplied for a Georgian passport.

“We are happy that our Abkhazian and Ossetian citizens will join us in enjoying every benefit offered by close relations with Europe,” he said. The rebel regions were not amused and said Mr Kvirikashvili was trying to leverage political capital out of the European Parliament vote by trying to persuade people living in South Ossetia and Abkhazia to move back to Georgia. Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian president from 2004 until 2013, deployed similar sweetener tactics, by building public swimming pools next to South Ossetia and holding rock concerts within earshot of Tskhinvali, its capital.

The authorities in Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast, released a statement.

“It is obvious that after a complete failure of the idea of the so-called neutral passports, the Georgian government decided to use another type of bait in the form of visa liberalization for citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia. It is clear that the Georgian government’s attempt will fail,” it said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Uzbekistan to receive funding from Kuwait

FEB. 9 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Apparently looking to extend its influence in Uzbekistan and Central Asia, Kuwait said that it would funnel another $60m into various social projects, according to a notice on the Uzbek foreign ministry website. Last year Kuwait’s Fund for Arab Development pledged to give $24m to buy urology equipment for Uzbekistan’s health service.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Cracks show in relations between Azerbaijan and EU

FEB. 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tension between Azerbaijan and the European Union spilled out into the open at what was meant to be a friendly summit meeting, highlighting the complexity of a relationship essentially built on gas.

First the Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European Commission, said as he headed off to meet Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev that the “nice part of my day is over” and then, a few hours later, Azerbaijan cancelled a meeting with senior European Parliament members. The European parliament had, the day before, hosted an event to push for greater human rights in Azerbaijan.

Relations between the two sides have been strained for years. The EU recoils at Azerbaijan’s alleged crackdown on the media and opposition activists, while Azerbaijan accuses the EU of trying to interfere with its domestic politics.

But Azerbaijan-EU relations are also important. The EU desperately wants to reduce its dependency on Russia for its gas. And they have bet on Azerbaijan and its plan to pump gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

It was to discuss plans to pump gas along the the so-called Southern Gas Pipeline Corridor across Georgia and Turkey, through southeast Europe and into Central Europe, that moved Mr Aliyev to travel to Brussels.

Things, though, got off to a bad start whenMr Juncker wrapped up a press conference prior to meeting Mr Aliyev with what appeared to be a derogative aside.

“Thank you, have a nice day,” he was quoted by media as saying to journalists at the end of press conference. “I will now see the president of Azerbaijan, so the nice part of my day is over.”

Although, Mr Aliyev and Mr Juncker did meet up, releasing a joint statement afterwards about strong relations, it was clear that the tone had been set. An Azerbaijani official declined to comment on Mr Juncker’s remarks.

Mr Aliyev also met with Federica Mogherini, the EU’s chief diplomat, and Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council. After these meetings both sides released friendly statements.

Mr Tusk said both that he had raised human rights with Mr Aliyev and that he also wanted to improve Azerbaijan-EU relations.

“We want to upgrade our relationship and develop its full potential through a new bilateral agreement,” he said.

A few hours later, though, there was another set back when Azerbaijan cancelled a meeting with Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament. In the build-up to Mr Aliyev’s visit to Brussels, human rights groups had signed a petition calling for Europe to push harder for rights in Azerbaijan.

The European Parliament has been particularly vocal in its criticism of Azerbaijan’s crackdown on human rights activists and journalists who criticise the government.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Georgia to change breakaway region’s name

FEB. 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a jibe at Georgia’s central government, the rebel authorities in the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia called a referendum on April 9 to vote to rename the region South Ossetia-Alania. Alania is the semi-mythical term for the combined region of North and South Ossetia. North Ossetia lies inside Russia, which the South Ossetian rebels want to join. The Kremlin has recognised South Ossetia’s independence since a war with Georgia in 2008. Only staunch Russian allies have followed this lead.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)f

Kazakh capital to host Syrian technical ceasefire talks

FEB. 6 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Officials from the United Nations, Russia, Turkey and Iran met in Astana to discuss the technical aspects of a ceasefire deal that they hope to impose on a civil war in Syria between President Bashar al- Assad’s forces and rebels. Astana has hosted a series of Syria ceasefire talks, the most recent in January. While the success of the talks is still open for debate, the positive PR generated by the Astana talks for Kazakhstan as a global mediator is undeniable.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Second round of Syria talks scheduled, says Kazakh ministry

FEB. 2 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — A second round of talks focused on finding a solution to the war in Syria have been scheduled for Feb. 6, Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry said. The talks, with Turkey, Russia and Iran as the main powerbrokers, are a follow up to talks held last month in Astana. For Kazakhstan, the talks are a good opportunity to market itself as an arena for international deal-making.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Putin schedules visit to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

JAN. 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to fly to Dushanbe for a state visit that Russian and Tajik media have hinted may coincide with a formal application from Tajikistan to join the Kremlin-lead Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Mr Putin will also travel to Bishkek on the same trip which Russian media said would take place “in the near future”.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Georgia sends soldiers to support EU mission in Africa

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia sent a platoon of 30 soldiers to serve under a France-lead European Union mission in the Central African Republic. The Georgians’ main mission is to defend the EU mission’s base. This is the first deployment of Georgian soldiers to the Central African Republic for two years. Georgia uses its military as an extension of its foreign policy and has sent military support to missions linked to the EU and NATO, two Western institutions that it wants to join.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)

Armenia wants close ties with Iran

JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenian defence minister Vigen Sargsyan travelled to Tehran for a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Dehqan in which both sides pledged to improve their military ties. Neighbours, Armenia and Iran have become increasingly close over the past couple of years, boosting military, economic and trade relations.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)