JAN. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Exports from Armenia grew by 20% to $1.8b in 2016, the state statistics service reported. Russia remains the biggest trade partner with total bilateral trade of nearly $1.4b, compared to China which has bilateral trade with Armenia of $454m. Bilateral trade with Russia was up by 15%, indicating a general pick up in the economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 315, published on Feb. 3 2017)
JAN. 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a partial victory for Armenia, Denmark’s parliament voted to adopt a resolution that criticised a ban in Turkey on using the term genocide to describe the killing of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians at the end of World War II by Ottoman Turks. Parliament stopped short of describing the killings as genocide, saying that it traditionally didn’t issue judgements on historical events. While Armenia has pushed hard for foreign governments to recognise the killings as a genocide, Turkey has refuted all allegations of an organised genocide.
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(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)
JAN. 20 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The authorities in Azerbaijan have closed the Qafqaz University in Baku because of its links to the Gulen movement which key ally Turkey blames for a failed coup in 2016.
The closure of the high-profile university, considered one of the best in Azerbaijan, follows the shutting of 10 high schools linked to Gulen.
Azerbaijan has been the only country in the South Caucasus and Central Asia region to go out of its way to accommodate Turkey’s demands to close institutions linked to Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric who is now living in exile in the United States.
In the 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR, Gulenists set up schools and universities in the region. They are now regarded as some of the best.
Gunel Hacıyeva, a recent graduate of the Qafqaz University, lamented its closure.
“Caucasus was the best university in Azerbaijan. So much experience, so many people, so many students have become victims of the interests of the authorities of both Turkey and Azerbaijan,” he told the Conway Bulletin.
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(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)
JAN. 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Talks in Astana between the forces of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and rebels broke up after two days with both sides promising to consolidate a ceasefire. The deal, overseen by Turkey, Russia and Iran, will be seen as a diplomatic success for Kazakhstan which hosted the talks. Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev wants to build up a reputation for Kazakhstan as an agent for peace.
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(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)
JAN. 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Highlighting increasingly tight ties between Armenia and Russia, Armenian PM Karen Karapetyan ordered his government to start preparing processes that would allow Russians to enter Armenia on their internal passports, essentially an ID document. This, potentially, opens up Armenia a holiday destination to the millions of Russians who don’t hold an international passport. Surrounded by its enemies Turkey and Azerbaijan, Armenia is reliant on Russia for military, economic and energy ties.
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(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)f
JAN. 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenian PM Karen Karapetyan flew to Moscow for a series of meetings, including with Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev, designed to underline just how close relations between the two countries are. Armenia has been compared, by some analysts as a Russian vassal state, reliant on it for trade, military and energy cooperation. This was Mr Karapetyan’s first visit to Russia as PM. He has close personal ties with Russia and previously used to work for Gazprom Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 314, published on Jan. 27 2017)
JAN. 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia has said 2,000 soldiers will take part in a major military exercise in the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia later this month. The exercise will also involve tanks and artillery and will be viewed as a provocation by Georgia. South Ossetia was the focus of fighting between Georgia and Russia in a five day 2008 war. Russia held a similar military exercise in South Ossetia in 2016 too.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 15/16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev led a high-level delegation to Dubai to meet with various UAE leaders. Mr Nazarbayev and the Kazakh government have increasingly said that they want to extend ties with the Gulf States. Various memorandums proclaiming strong bilateral relations were signed.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 16 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Some Syrian rebel groups have agreed to attend so-called peace talks backed by Russia and Turkey set for Astana on Jan. 23, giving the them a vital boost. It’s considered vital for rebel groups to attend the talks if issues of any great matter can be decided. Syrian peace talks were also held in Kazakhstan in 2015 but without any government representatives.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
JAN. 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — John Kerry, the outgoing US Secretary of State, landed briefly in Tbilisi for what was described as a technical stopover. He was en route to Vietnam, the focus of his farewell tour after four years as the US’ top diplomat. Mr Kerry met Georgia’s deputy foreign minister David Zalkaliani at the airport. For Georgia, even a short stop by Mr Kerry is a positive endorsement of its pro-Western agenda.
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(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)