NOV. 8 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan’s military test fired a Chinese FD-2000 missile system that media said was based on Russia’s S-300 surface-to-air system. The missile test shows how China is making in-roads into every aspect of Central Asia’s government, economy and military. Previously, former Soviet states almost exclusively bought military kit from Russia.
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— This story was first published in issue 428 of the weekly Bulletin
YEREVAN/NOV. 11 (The Bulletin) — Armenia will soon allow Russia to inspect three US-linked biochemical laboratories near Yerevan, part of a network across the former Soviet Union that the Kremlin has said is being used to develop weapons.
Granting Russia access to the US-sponsored sites is an indication of just how close relations have become between the Kremlin and Yerevan since Nikol Pashinyan took over as Armenian PM after a revolution last year. He has sent Armenian deminers and doctors to support Russia’s operations in Syria and also made deals with Iran, all to the irritation of Washington.
At a joint press conference with Armenian foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan in Yerevan, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that a deal to visit the biochemical laboratories would be finalised “soon”.
“We see very close contacts between our countries’ economic departments; intergovernmental commissions are getting ready for work in Yerevan in the first half of next year. Yerevan will also host a Russian-Armenian inter-regional forum,” Mr Lavrov said.
The US government has always denied that the laboratories are developing weapons and has said it would be happy for the Russians to tour them. Instead, it has said that the labs are developing “disease response and reporting capabilities” and that, although part-funded by the US, they are under the full control of the Armenian government.
The biochemical laboratories have been a source of frustration for the Kremlin, alleging that the US is using them to develop biological weapons. Last year Mr Lavrov directly accused the Lugar laboratories in Tbilisi of being a front for a US weapons plant, a row that angered the US and damaged Georgia-Russia relations.
The warm relations between Russia and Armenia have taken analysts by surprise. Most had expected the Kremlin to disapprove of a revolution in Armenian in April and May 2018 that ushered Mr Pashinyan into power, previously an apparently pro-Western fringe politician. He, though, has proved keen to keep the Kremlin onside.
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— This story was first published in issue 430 of the weekly Bulletin.
BISHKEK/Aug. 8 (The Bulletin) — Kyrgyz special forces arrested former president Almazbek Atambayev after a 24-hour siege at his fortified compound outside Bishkek in which at least one soldier died and dozens more were injured.
Shortly after his arrest, Mr Atambayev, president in 2011-17, was charged with corruption and his police mugshot was published.
Mr Atambayev and his supporters have called the charges politically motivated. Atambayev has fallen out with his handpicked successor Sooronbai Jeenbekov. Earlier, before his capture, Mr Jeenbekov called Mr Atambayev a criminal at an emergency session of Parliament.
“By putting up fierce armed resistance to the investigative measures undertaken within the framework of the law, Almazbek Atambayev heavily trampled upon the constitution and laws of Kyrgyzstan,” he said.
The two men fell out because Mr Atambayev had wanted to retain some backseat power after retirement, a move that Mr Jeenbekov rejected.
Police flooded central Bishkek on Thursday night, hours after Mr Atambayev’s arrest, expecting angry crowds, but although it was tense, it was also quiet.
Analysts though said that the arrest and the violence around the arrest, with an estimated 200 supporters of Mr Atamayev holding off the special forces soldiers, had pushed Kyrgyzstan, considered the most fragile country in Central Asia, into a period of instability.
Much depends on how Russia reacts. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Mr Atambayev to the Kremlin. Afterwards, he told the two men to make their peace as he didn’t want to see more instability.
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— This story was first published in issue 418 of the weekly Bulletin
YEREVAN/Aug. 5 (The Bulletin) — Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan called for Armenia’s unification with the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, hardline language that immediately drew condemnation from neighbour Azerbaijan.
He made the comments during a visit to the Armenian controlled section of the region which is called Artsakh. During his speech, Mr Pashynian said: “Artsakh is Armenia and that’s it.”
He also led the crowd in chants of “miatsum” which means unification, used as a slogan during the 1990s when the region broke away from Azerbaijan.
A shaky UN ceasefire has held since then, although there are sporadic outbreaks of violence.
Azerbaijan, which has accused Mr Pashinyan of blocking peace negotiations since he took power in a revolution in 2018, issued an immediate rebuke, calling his statements a provocation.
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— This story was first published in issue 418 of the weekly Bulletin
Aug. 5 (The Bulletin) — Residents of a Kyrgyz village clashed with Chinese workers at a nearby Chinese-owned gold mine in the east of the country. Reports said that at least 20 people were injured in the fighting. Tension between the gold mine and locals has been rising since the start of July after the death of villagers’ livestock. Farmers blamed the gold mine for polluting the environment. Anti-China sentiment, though, is growing in Kyrgyzstan.
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— This story was first published in issue 418 of the weekly Bulletin
Aug. 7 (The Bulletin) — Georgia’s foreign ministry sent a protest note to Russia after a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abkhazian leader Raul Khajimba ahead of the 11th anniversary of a war between Georgia and Russia. Abkhazia is one of two breakaway states in Georgia. The other is North Ossetia. They broke away in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and are effectively Russian vassal states. Only Russia and a handful of other allies recognise Abkhazia and North Ossetia’s independence claims
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— This story was first published in issue 418 of the weekly Bulletin
July 24 (The Bulletin) — An Azerbaijani MIG-29 fighter-jet crashed into the Caspian Sea on a training exercise, media reported. Azerbaijan’s government has asked for help from Russia and Turkey to locate the crash wreckage and the body of the dead pilot.
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— This story was first published in issue 418 of the weekly Bulletin
YEREVAN/March 7 (The Bulletin) — Armenia suffered its first casualty of is engagement in Syria when a landmine exploded and seriously injured a deminer’s leg. The deminer had to have his foot amputated.
The detachment of 83 personnel — deminers and medics — are supporting Russian reconstruction efforts in Aleppo, once home to an ethnic Armenian diaspora estimated at around 100,000 people.
The US has warned Armenia not to support Russian military efforts in the region but Armenia’s new PM, Nikol Pashinyan has been keen to win favour with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he came to power in May last year through a revolution.
Wary of upsetting the US, Armenia is the only former Soviet country supporting Russia’s reconstruction efforts.
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— This story was first published in issue 403 of the weekly Bulletin
FEB. 4 (The Conway Bulletin) — In Bishkek, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia was open to discussing the option of opening up a second airbase in Kyrgyzstan. It has operated out of the Kant airbase near Bishkek since 2003. A few days later, though, Damir Sagynbaev, Kyrgyzstan’s security chief, said that the country had no intention of offering Russia the option of opening a second military air base.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019
FEB. 1 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia has bought four Su-30SM fighter jets from Russia for an undisclosed amount, media reported saying that it was the first time in “many years” that the Armenian military had bought new fighter jets rather than second-hand ones. The fighter jets should be delivered by 2020. Armenia is still officially at war with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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>This story was first published in issue 399 of The Conway Bulletin on Feb. 8 2019
Copyright The Conway Bulletin 2019