Tag Archives: security

Tajikistan rejects Russian patrol

NOV. 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia is not going to send guards back to patrol Central Asia’s border with Afghanistan, said Russian Colonel-General Alexander Manilov, despite worries the Taliban is spreading northwards. Russian border guards used to patrol the Tajik-Afghan border until 2005. Tajikistan has said it doesn’t want foreign border guards patrolling its frontiers.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Turkmenistan signs Afghan power deal

NOV. 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has signed a decree paving the way for Turkmen electricity supplies to Afghanistan until 2027, a move seemingly designed to increase stability in its southern neighbour as well as lock in a long-term client.

The Turkmen government announced the agreement through one of its official websites turkmenistan.ru.

It said that the contract now being finalised between Turkmenenenergo and their Afghan counterparts would run from Jan. 1 2018 until Dec. 31 2027.

It’s important because it highlights both Turkmenistan’s ability to negotiate long-term power deals for its neighbours and also its determination to help Afghanistan stabilise.

Turkmenistan needs a stable Afghanistan for two main reasons. It wants the Afghan government to be strong enough to be able to control a resurgent Taliban and it also needs Afghanistan to be a stable transit partner for the proposed TAPI pipeline running from its gas fields to consumers in India.

TAPI is vital for Turkmenistan. It needs to diversify its client base for gas as it is over-reliant on China.

Turkmenistan has been investing heavily in its power generating infrastructure. It sees the sector as another way of projecting itself on the international stage.

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(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Russian to install missiles in Armenia

NOV. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia will install an air defence missile system in Armenia, RIA- Novosti news agency reported quoting a statement from the Kremlin, a rival, perhaps, to the US missile system in Eastern Europe. By stationing missiles in Armenia, Russia is pulling it tighter into its field of influence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Kyrgyz-Tajik border row lingers

NOV. 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A land transfer deal between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan which was supposed to solve the neighbour’s long-running border dispute has been postponed, media reported. The row has flared into violence over the past couple of years and could even destabilise the region.

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(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Two Tajik officers die of knive attacks

NOV. 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Unknown assailants armed with knives attacked four Tajik army officers in Dushanbe, killing two of them. The army has not given a motive for the attack although the officers were involved with Tajikistan’s military draft. Officially at least, all Tajik men have to serve two years in the army.

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(News report from Issue No. 256, published on Nov. 13 2015)

Kerry visits Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

OCT.31/NOV. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as part of a tour of Central Asia. In Bishkek, Mr Kerry wanted to persuade the government that despite quitting its airbase, the US was still interested in Kyrgyzstan. In Dushanbe, Mr Kerry told the government to ease up on its crackdown of opposition parties.

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(News report from Issue No. 255, published on Nov. 6 2015)

US blocks Korea- Uzbekistan fight jet deal

OCT. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US government has blocked Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) , a South Korean firm, from selling a dozen T-50 Golden Eagle training fighter jets to Uzbekistan for $400m, the Korea Times newspaper reported.

Washington was reportedly concerned that technology used in T50s, which was co-developed by KAI and the US’ Lockheed Martin a decade ago, could be handed over to Russia.

“KAI has been in negotiations with the Uzbek government to export the supersonic trainers, but the US government is opposing the deal, citing possible technology leakage and diplomatic policy,” the Korea Times source said.

Uzbekistan is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation but not the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Russia-dominated military bloc of former Soviet countries.

Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer told the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the US’ worries were understandable.

“The decision has nothing to do with Uzbekistan. But Uzbekistan is a country in the Russian sphere of influence,” he was quoted as saying.

If confirmed, the ban on the sale of the T-50s to Tashkent could overshadow a planned visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Samarkand on Nov. 1.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan attempt to resolve border dispute

OCT. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Senior officials from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan agreed to meet on Nov. 5 in Bishkek to try and resolve the long running issue of border demarcation. Border disputes have strained relations between the two countries since independence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Kerry heads to Kyrgyzstan at start of Central Asia tour

OCT. 27 2015, BISHKEK (The Conway Bulletin) — US State Secretary, John Kerry, was due to fly to Kyrgyzstan on Oct. 31 for the start of his first tour of Central Asia, a stopover considered vital to repair relations with an ally that has drifted towards Russia over the past couple of years.

In Bishkek, Mr Kerry will hold bilateral discussions with senior Kyrgyz officials, including President Almazbek Atambayev, and open a new campus for the American University of Central Asia.

Top of Mr Kerry’s agenda will be the growing influence of Russia as well as a draft bill banning so-called gay propaganda and a law that bans local NGOs from foreign funding.

Marat Kazakpayev, a Bishkek analyst, said US investments and security would be discussed.

“They will discuss security in the region, including situation in Afghanistan and Syria, as well what to do to counter terrorism,” he said.

The US operated an airbase from the Manas airport outside Bishkek for 13 years until 2014 when it was wound down alongside military operations in Afghanistan.

For Mr Kerry and the US, this is an important trip to Central Asia.

It has ceded influence in the region to Russia and China. Russia has the historical, political and cultural links; China has the financial firepower.

In contrast, with the scaling down of military operations in Afghanistan, the US and the West have appeared to disengage with Central Asia. Mr Kerry’s main mission will be to re- assure the region’s leaders that the US is still interested in Central Asia.

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(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Taliban hides near Turkmen border

OCT. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Taliban fighters were hiding from Afghan government forces on an island in the Amu Darya, a river that marks the Afghan- Turkmen border. Worried about the impact on foreign investment, Turkmenistan has denied that Taliban activity along its border with Afghanistan is a threat to its security.

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(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)