Tag Archives: international relations

Israeli President visits Georgia

JAN. 9/10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin flew to Georgia for a 2-day state visit and for meetings with Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili. The trip was being hailed as an advert for the close relations between the two countries. Last year a subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems said it would set up a factory in Georgia to produce parts for passenger planes.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 312, published on Jan. 13 2017)

Kazakhstan attends first UNSC session

JAN. 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan attended its first UN Security Council meeting, a moment that Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev has been working towards for years. Mr Nazarbayev wants to promote Kazakhstan and he views the 2-year UN Security Council posting as an ideal way of doing this on the international stage. Kazakhstan was represented byBarlybay Sadykov, deputy head of Kazakhstan’s UN mission.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

US Senator McCain flies into Georgia to warn Trump not to go soft on dealing with Putin

TBILISI, JAN. 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Landing in Tbilisi on the last leg of a tour of the Baltic States, Ukraine and Georgia, US Republican Senator John McCain said that the US needed to stand up to Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

Mr McCain, who was accompanied by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, warned incoming US president Donald Trump not to be soft on Mr Putin.

“I believe we must continue to improve our relations and understand that Vladimir Putin, unless we stand up to him, will continue his aggression,” he told media on a trip to boundary with the break away region of South Ossetia. “We must stand up to Vladimir Putin.”

Mr McCain is known for his tough hawkish stance on Russia and, over the years, has been a major supporter of the westward trajectory taken by Georgia and other FSU countries.

And for Georgia, his support is important, especially with Mr Trump making increasingly benign overtones to Mr Putin. In a twitter message last month he praised Mr Putin, calling him “very smart”, for not reacting to the expulsion from the US of 35 Russian diplomats for trying to influence the US presidential election through a series of hacks.

Since 2003, when Mikheil Saakashvili took power during a peaceful revolution, Georgia has pursued a doggedly pro-Western agenda. It has joined in US-led military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and applied for both NATO and EU membership.

These steps have irritated the Kremlin, which still aims to control its near-abroad, and triggered a war in 2008. Relations have improved since the Georgian Dream coalition won power in 2012 although they are still decidedly strained.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

Syria peace talks to be held in Kazakh capital, says Cavusoglu

DEC. 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that peace talks between Syria’s government and rebel groups have now been scheduled for Jan. 23 in Astana. Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev wants to promote Kazakhstan as an arena to host talks. This will be the third Syria-focused peace talks held in Kazakhstan. The Syrian government did not send delegations to the two previous talks in 2015.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

Kyrgyz President visits Uzbekistan

DEC. 24/25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev visited Tashkent, a symbolic trip which highlighted the vast improvement in relations between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan since Islam Karimov died in September. The neighbours have been close to war but since Karimov died, Uzbek officials have appeared to change their previously antagonistic stance towards Kyrgyzstan over disputed border areas.

Frustrated Kyrgyz President delays signing EEU customs code

BISHKEK, DEC. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev delayed signing a new Eurasian Economic Union customs code, media reported, a very public signal of his frustration with the Kremlin-led group.

The code, drawn up to replace an earlier one agreed by the EEU’s predecessor the Customs Union, and a deal on foreign trade policies were supposed to have been signed by member states at a meeting in St Petersburg in a setpiece end-of-year summit.

Instead, Tigran Sarkisyan, head of the EEU’s executive unit, was forced to issue a statement explaining the delay.

“All documents were signed except the first issue on the agenda, a statement of the development of EEU trade policies, which three countries signed but Kyrgyzstan refused to sign, and the second document, the Customs Code, which three countries signed but Kyrgyzstan refused to sign,” media quoted him as saying.

Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko was absent from the meeting.

Hours later the Eurasian Economic Commission released another statement which said that Mr Atambayev had apparently signed the deals. There was no explanation on what had triggered Mr Atambayev’s change of mind.

Kyrgyzstan joined the EEU in August 2015 but has complained that the rules favor Kazakhstan and Russia and that it has lost business since joining. Local businessmen have also said the mountain of red tape has increased costs.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

Rakhmon invites Uzbek president Dushanbe

DEC. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Tajik president Emomali Rakhmon has invited his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Dushanbe, media reported, another major step towards normalising ties between the two neighbours after more than two decades of frosty relations. Since Mr Mirziyoyev took over as Uzbekistan’s leader in September, Uzbekistan has looked to improve relations with its neighbours.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 311, published on Jan. 6 2017)

Turkmenistan and Iran row over $2b gas bill

DEC. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan has accused Iran of not paying $2b of debt linked to gas supplies, media reported, threatening to sour carefully crafted friendly relations between the two neighbours.

The Russian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quoted an unnamed Turkmen official as saying that Iran still owed it $2b for gas supplied since 2012. In return the Iranian state-run Fars news agency quoted an Iranian official as saying that Turkmenistan was using the tougher winter months, when Iran needs more gas, as a weapon. The Iranian official threatened to break off commercial links with Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan and Iran have pulled together since Western sanctions were imposed on Iran in 2012 for its alleged determination to build a nuclear weapon.

During this time Turkmenistan’s gas supplies to Iran have doubled to 10b cubic metres. Iran also imports electricity from Turkmenistan.

The payment system, though, is complicated because of a series of barter deals. Earlier this year, Turkmenistan and Iran announced a deal through which Iran would take $30b of Turkmen gas over the next 10 years in exchange for $30b of technical assistance.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

Kazakhstan to host Syria peace talks

DEC. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan is being considered as a neutral territory to hold peace talks between Syrian rebels and pro-government forces, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev wants Kazakhstan to play the role of global peace- maker and has previously said that Syrian peace talks could be held in Astana or Almaty. Kazakhstan has previously held two rounds of Syrian peace talks.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)

EEU customs code to be ratified in Armenia

DEC. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s parliament ratified an agreement on introducing the Eurasian Economic Union’s customs code into law. The EEU has developed a customs code to increase integration within the group. Russian officials have previously said that the code will be finalised at the end of December.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 310, published on Dec. 23 2016)