AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FMs MEET IN MADRID

29 November

Foreign ministers Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan and Vardan Oskanian of Armenia met Thursday in Madrid, Spain, to discuss settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The meeting was held in the presence of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns. The meeting took place within the framework of the OSCE`s 15th Ministerial Council. (Azertag)

 

Okruashvili placed in German custody for 2 months, denied political asylum - Georgian ambassador

29 November

Former Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili requested political asylum in Germany nearly a month before being arrested in Berlin yesterday, Georgian ambassador to Germany Levan Duchidze said.

Okruashvili filed a formal request for political asylum on November 1, almost immediately upon his arrival in Germany, Duchidze told Georgian Rustavi-2 television on Thursday. The Germany authorities cannot grant Okruashvili political asylum because he has not got a German visa, Duchidze said. After his arrest, Okruashvili has not asked for meetings with Georgian embassy officials, the ambassador said. The Georgian side is in permanent contact with the Berlin Prosecutor's Office, he said. On Thursday, Okruashvili was transferred to a pre-trial detention center after a court ruled to place him in custody for two months, Duchidze said. If an upper court upholds the ruling, the Georgian authorities will have 40 days to prepare and submit extradition papers, he said. (Interfax)

 

Prime minister of Kyrgyzstan leaves office

29 November

Kyrgyzstan's president signed an order relieving Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev of duty on Wednesday, nine months after he was appointed in a move to appease opposition groups. The order followed Atambayev's request to be relieved of the post, said Nurlan Shakiyev, spokesman for President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. However, a spokesman for Atambayev's Social Democratic Party, Edil Basailov, said Atambayev was fired "because he was interfering with efforts to manipulate the upcoming elections" for Parliament that are set for Dec. 16. Bakiyev appointed Atambayev in February amid a political crisis in which opposition groups were calling for Bakiyev to resign over corruption and cronyism allegations. In May, Atambayev lost consciousness for two days and later claimed he had been poisoned. He said he had received death threats connected with a government decision to nationalize a semiconductor plant. Politics in Kyrgyzstan _ where both Russia and the United States have military air bases _ have been mired in squabbling for two years since Bakiyev came to power in the wake of the overthrow of longtime President Askar Akayev. (AP)

 

“ROLE OF POLITICAL LEADERS IN DEVELOPMENT OF TURKISH SPEAKING NATIONS IN 20TH CENTURY” CONFERENCE DUE IN ALMATY

30 November

The second international conference “Role of Political Leaders in Development of the Turkish Speaking Nations in the 20th Century” organized by the Bishkek-based Public Foundation in Support of the Turkish-speaking Countries will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 12 December, AzerTAc own correspondent reports. The event is expected bring together political figures, parliamentarians, scientists and journalists from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other Turkish-speaking countries.  According to the Foundation’s president Nusrat Mammadov, participants in the conference will hear the reports on the Turkic world’s renowned political figures including Heydar Aliyev, Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, as well as the Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan and Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan.  He added that the book “Founder and Creator of Modern Azerbaijan” dedicated to national leader Heydar Aliyev published in Kazakh language will be presented in the framework of the conference.  The first conference on the role of political leaders in development of the Turkish speaking nations was held in July 2007 in Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

 

Kazakhstan wants $7 billion for Kashagan delays

30 November

Kazakhstan demanded $7 billion in compensation from an Eni-led consortium on Friday for delays in developing the huge Kashagan oilfield, a source close to the talks said as a deadline for a settlement was hours away. Kazakhstan has set the November 30 deadline for its negotiations with the group to resolve a long-running dispute over cost overruns and production delays at the Caspian Sea oilfield, but some officials have said talks may last longer. "(We demand) more than $7 billion. That's for the delays," said the source, who declined to be identified. Eni had no immediate comment. Kazakhstan had previously demanded more than $10 billion, according to other sources. Kazakhstan heaped further pressure on Western investors on Friday as Deputy Finance Minister Daulet Yergozhin announced it planned to introduce a new oil production tax to boost budget revenues, probably starting in 2009. Kashagan, with its estimated 38 billion barrels of oil in place, lies at the heart of Kazakhstan's plans to triple its crude output by 2017 as the former Soviet state fast emerges as a new source of non-OPEC oil. But its development has been plagued by cost overruns and delays which have irked Kazakhstan. It is now due to start production in 2010, instead of 2005 originally. Its costs have escalated from $57 billion to $136 billion. Speaking earlier in the capital Astana, Yergozhin said a high-profile consortium delegation was in the Kazakh capital on Friday to discuss the future of the world's biggest oil find in three decades. "We are continuing our talks. November 30 is not over yet," he said. "I think we still have time. They are still here. ... We are discussing many issues." Officials have said, however, that talks might continue until the end of the year. Sources close to the deal have told Reuters that one of the consortium members considered pulling out altogether from the complicated project. Yergozhin said Kazakhstan was discussing a possible scheme to secure a share of profit from Kashagan earlier than planned and still wanted Kazakh national oil firm KazMunaiGas to be co-operator of the field, currently managed by ENI. "We've said that KazMunaiGas should be co-operator," he said. "Kazakhstan cannot choose the operator unilaterally. The operator is chosen by all consortium companies." Kazakhstan has accused Eni and its partners -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp, Total, Conoco Phillips and Japan's Inpex Holdings Inc -- of ecological and other violations at the Kashagan field. Kazakhstan put further pressure on the Eni-led group and alarmed other investors in the oil and gas business by passing legislation allowing the government to break contracts with foreign companies. (Reuters)

 

Man detained in Dagestan on suspicion planning attack on polling day - police spokesman

30 November

A resident of Khasavyurt in Dagestan was detained on Friday morning on suspicion of planning a terror attack on the day of the elections to the Duma, December 2.  A search in the suspect's home led to the discovery of a suicide bomber's belt prepared to be used, a spokesman for the Khasavyurt city police department told Interfax. (Interfax)

 

Leader of Azerbaijani diaspora in Georgia arrested for two months

1 December

The Tbilisi City Court has handed down a two-month preliminary arrest on Dashgyn Gulmamedov, the leader of the National Assembly of Azerbaijanis in Georgia. Gulmamedov, who leads the campaign staff of Georgian presidential candidate Fazil Aliyev, has been charged with propagating ethnic discrimination.  Lawyer Giorgi Zumbadze told journalists Gulmamedov had been placed in the Ortachala prison.  "There is no evidence to substantiate this arrest and this ruling is politically motivated. An appeal will be filed on this case," the lawyer said. Aliyev had said earlier that Gulmamedov's arrest had been aimed at exerting pressure on him as a presidential candidate.  Georgian law enforcement agencies detained Gulmamedov on November 27. (Interfax)

 

Kazakhstan picked to chair OSCE

Iran [1] and Russia through Central Asia [2]. "Turkmenistan is turning into an important transport [3] centre for the continent which will economically benefit the nation," the state Turkmen news agency reported. (Reuters)

 

Georgia not to Invite Russian Election Observers

4 December

Georgia will not invite Russian observers to monitor the January 5 early presidential elections, Nino Burjanadze, the acting president, said in an interview with the Russian newspaper, Vremya Novostei, published on December 4. “Russia also is not inviting us to monitor elections [in Russia],” she said. “At the same time, I think that not everyone who would have come to Georgia would be objective. There are more and more signs that Russia is not interested in Georgia’s stability and welfare.” She also said that invitation to monitor Georgia’s elections were not sent to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), although Tbilisi, she said, had invited some of CIS member states, which have “friendly” relations with Georgia.

The Georgian authorities have already called on OSCE and other international organizations to send “as many observers as possible” to observe the January 5 polls. (Civil Georgia)

 

Afghanistan asks U.S. for more weapons, trainers

4 December

The Afghanistan military needs more trainers and equipment in order to gain control of their country's security, the Afghan defense chief told Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Tuesday. Gen. Bismillah Khan said that while "the U.S. has been more than generous," the Afghan army's weapons are inadequate and old, specifically its heavy artillery and armored vehicles. Speaking through an interpreter while sitting at a small table with Gates, Khan added that "we don't have enough mentors, enough advisers." Gates told Khan that "we know your interest in small arms and mortars and we are looking for ways to expedite" the equipment. And he added that he also was well aware of the shortage of trainers — a shortfall U.S. military officials said was as many as 2,000-3,000. According to Maj. Gen. Richard Cone, the U.S. is about to begin providing M-16 rifles to the Afghans, and is poised to deliver about 10,000 a month, up to 60,000. And he said there is an ongoing effort to obtain helicopters for the Afghanistan forces, including plans for an additional 34 in the near future. Cone said the helicopters will be key to relieving some stress on U.S. and NATO forces, which currently have to shuttle Afghan troops around the country. (AP)

 

Exxon refused to transfer its Kashagan share to KazMunayGas

5 December

Exxon Company refused to transfer its share in Kashagan project to KazMunayGas. The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sauat Mynbayev informed on Tuesday.  Earlier KazMunayGas informed on signing new memorandum of mutual understanding with Kashagan consortium that includes solution of the issue of delay in realization of the project and increase in expenses.  "According to the new memorandum all members of consortium, except for one, reached consent on transfer the part of shares to the project at the rate of necessary for increase of KazMunayGas Company share up to the level of large participants," KazMunayGas press service informs.  According to the document of December, 20, 2007 the parties should finish negotiations on transfer of shares and increase of KazMunayGas role in operational activity. New memorandum of mutual understanding has been signed following the results of intensive negotiations at the level of CEO's of the companies." (Kazakhstan Today)

 

President Gul To Travel To Turkmenistan

5 December

Turkish President Abdullah Gul will depart for Turkmenistan on Wednesday on a formal visit upon an invitation by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.  Gul and Berdimuhamedov will have a tete-a-tete meeting on Thursday.  During his stay in Turkmenistan, Gul will also visit mausoleum of Saparmurad Turkmenbasi, former president of Turkmenistan, who passed away last year.  After attending a business forum between the two countries, Gul will return to Turkey on Friday. (Turkishpress)

 

Turkey proposes gas pipeline from Turkmenistan

6 December

Turkey has offered to revive the idea of building a pipeline to deliver gas from Turkmenistan via Iran, Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said on Thursday. Guler said Turkish President Abdullah Gul made the offer during talks with Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat. "They are going to discuss the project to build a Turkmenistan-Iran-Turkey gas pipeline with capacity of 16 billion cubic metres per year," Guler, who is travelling with Gul's delegation, told reporters.

Turkish government sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Ankara also planned to propose a joint venture with Turkmenistan to operate the ex-Soviet state's abundant natural gas and oil fields. Turkey, which is seeking to become a regional energy transit hub, has signed a natural gas supply contract with Iran but some European Union countries have misgivings because Iran is subject to United Nations sanctions over its nuclear programme. Turkey is also involved in the consortium planning to build the 31-bcm Nabucco pipeline to take Caspian gas to Europe. The consortium, which includes Austria's OMV , Hungary's MOL , Bulgaria's Bulgargaz and Romania's Transgaz, has secured gas from Azerbaijan but also sees Iran and Turkmenistan as other possible suppliers for the route. Turkmenistan and Russia are also discussing building a Caspian Gas Pipeline, linking Turkmen gas with global markets via Russian territory, but the project has been delayed due to a pricing dispute. The Russia-proposed pipeline would have capacity of between 10 billion and 20 billion cubic metres a year. Turkmenistan, which currently exports most of its gas through Russia, is also working on a separate pipeline to China. Some analysts have questioned the country's ability to go ahead with so many projects at once, but Turkmenistan says it has enough gas reserves for everyone. (Reuters)

 

Afghan, Tajik Entrepreneurs Meet For Cross-Border Trade Forum

7 December

A forum supported by the OSCE Centre to promote cross-border trade between Tajikistan and Afghanistan opened in the Tajik city of Kurghonteppa on 6 December.  The two-day international business forum brought together entrepreneurs, public organizations and high-ranking officials from the two countries, including Afghanistan's Ambassador to Tajikistan, Sayd Muhammad Khayrkhon.  "This forum is part of the Centre's work to strengthen business contacts between Afghanistan and Tajikistan and it is in line with the decision taken by the OSCE participating States in Madrid at the end of November to expand the OSCE's engagement in Afghanistan," said Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, Head of the OSCE Centre in his opening statement.  "We also hope that the event will contribute to the international community's peace-building efforts in Afghanistan." (UzReport.com)

 

Bagapsh denies allegations of state of emergency imposed in Abkhazia

9 December

Georgian media claims that a state of emergency has been introduced in Abkhazia have been described as "stupidity" by Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh.  "All this is nothing but stupidity. Nothing of this kind has happened. All this is absolute idiocy," Bagapsh told Interfax on Sunday, in comments on Georgian media reports claiming that a state of emergency has been introduced in Abkhazia ahead of the Georgian presidential elections.  "Peacekeepers and UN military observers are located in Abkhazia. Georgia should ask them, if it wants to get real information," Bagapsh said. (Interfax)

 

Opinion: GUAM introduces question on frozen conflicts in response to Russia’s statements

10 December

A draft resolution on frozen conflicts released at the UN headquarters is a failure of the Armenian diplomacy, Armenian political analyst Hamayak Hovhannisyan told a REGNUM [4] correspondent.

According to the analyst, it is absolutely clear that the Armenian envoy to the United Nations must be acting effectively so that he could respond to all challenges timely and adequately. “However, Armenia failed to prevent from putting it on the agenda, despite the fact that it had managed to do so several times by threatening to Azerbaijan to withdraw from the current format of the negotiations,” Hovhannisyan said. It is unclear for him why Armenia, in particularly, its foreign ministry, did not make effort to prevent from debating the issue at the UN and explained it by the fact that “they do not want to harm the negotiation process within frameworks of the OSCE Minsk Group.” However, according to Hovhannisyan, discussion of the issue at the UN coincided with increasing prospects of declaration of independence by Kosovo and with escalation of the tension between Abkhazia and South Ossetia on one side and Georgia on the other side. As the analyst believes, in reality, Georgia and Moldova are more interested in discussing the frozen conflicts at the UN than Azerbaijan is. According to him, the conflicts in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdnestr are seen in the frameworks of the Russian mandate and, to avoid one-sided mediation, and taking into account the willingness to take away the peacekeeping mandate from Russia, those countries proposed the issue for discussion of the international community, while the Nagorno Karabakh conflict was a subject of a multilateral debate within the OSCE Minsk Group. “The key reason for putting the question for the discussion at the UN so fast was Russia’s statement that if the West recognizes Kosovo, it would recognize independence of the republics in the post-Soviet territory,” Hovhannisyan concluded. (Regnum)

Azerbaijan convicts 15 of plotting Iran-backed coup
10 December
A court in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan Monday convicted more than a dozen people of plotting a coup with the backing of Iranian intelligence services. Said Dadashbeyli, mastermind of the coup, was sentenced to 14 years in prison while 14 others were handed sentences of between two and 14 years. Authorities alleged the group had been cooperating with Iranian special services to mount a coup against the government of President Ilham Aliyev. Members of the group were arrested in January and charged with high treason, plotting a coup, being in possession of illegal weapons and manufacturing false documents. No other details of the plot have emerged. The verdict was announced after a two-month trial held behind closed doors for reasons of state security. Despite growing trade links, relations between Baku and Tehran have been difficult since Azerbaijan broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991, with disputes over oil reserves in the Caspian Sea and the status of a large ethnic Azeri minority in Iran. Azerbaijan has accused Iran of trying to export its brand of fundamentalist Islam to the fellow Shiite Muslim country. But critics say Azerbaijan, a key U.S. ally in the strategic Caucasus region, also uses the potential threat of extremism as a cover for persecuting political opponents. (AFP)

Tajikistan asks for larger electricity supplies from Turkmenistan

10 December

A three-day official visit of Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon to Turkmenistan will focus on the deliveries of Turkmen energy resources. “My country has strictly limited the consumption of electric power, so we need the imports of electricity and fuel,” Rakhmon said. “I have asked the Turkmen president to set quotas on the deliveries of petroleum products, liquefied natural gas and a number of prime commodities to Tajikistan.” “Turkmenistan will continue to develop close economic cooperation with Tajikistan,” Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhhamedow said in comments on the first day of the visit. He said Turkmenistan had been successfully delivering electric power to the neighbor.

A tripartite agreement on electric power supplies was signed in Dushanbe in early October on results of an official visit of the Turkmen president. “The three-year contract implies the Turkmen annual deliveries of one billion kilowatt/hours of electricity to Tajikistan,” Berdimuhhamedow said.  As for the request to enlarge electricity quotas, he said, a modern power plant had been recently commissioned in the northern area of Dashoguz. Thus, it is possible to enlarge electricity exports, in particularly, to Tajikistan, he said.

In addition, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan will restore air and motor traffic and set up joint ventures.

Agreements to that effect were signed during the visit, the Turkmen presidential press service said on Sunday.  The presidents signed a joint communiquй and a convention to prevent double taxation and capital gain tax evasion.  “Our countries have a huge cooperation potential,” Rakhmon said.

In the opinion of the presidents, the documents will spur on cooperation, the establishment of joint ventures and the protection of investments. A joint economic cooperation commission will also help to attain the goals.  The foreign ministers signed an intergovernmental agreement on the mutual protection of classified information.  On Monday Rakhmon will attend the opening of a UN regional center for preventive diplomacy in Central Asia and a related international conference.  On December 11 he will visit the Turkmenbashi seaport, the Avaza national tourist zone and a cluster of oil refineries. (Itar-Tass)

 

NINE UPGRADE PROJECTS COMPLETED IN AFGHANISTAN

11 December

Nine projects to upgrade utilities in Afghanistan were completed under the National Solidarity Program (NSP) in the country's central Parwan province, said Mohammad Dawod, regional director of the Habitat Organization, Monday. "These projects worth about 5.5 million afghanis (US$1.1 million) were completed with the support of the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Ministry (RRDM)", he added. These projects include the construction of an 8 kilometre long road, three water supply schemes, the digging of six wells and cleaning of one canal in Koh-i-Safi district. Some 850 families of Adin Khel, Dandar, Dewana Khel, Hasan Zai, Char Ghati, Karez Gai, Khak Khor, Sanzali and Spin Chapli villages will benefit from these projects. (Pajhwok Afghan News)

 

Sixteen dead or missing in Afghan avalanche: government

11 December

Eight people were killed and as many others were missing after an avalanche engulfed a village in remote northeastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the interior ministry said. Fifty people were initially trapped by the avalanche, the first this winter in the remote and mountainous northeastern province of Badakhshan, but most were rescued by police and villagers, it said in a statement. "Eight people were killed, four wounded and eight others are missing," the statement said. Badakhshan, a mountainous region on the border with China and Tajikistan, sees frequent natural disasters such as floods and avalanches. Dozens of people were killed in such incidents last year. (AFP)

 

President of Turkey to visit Kazakhstan

11 December

The President of Turkey Abdulla Gul will pay the state visit to Kazakhstan on December 13-15, the agency reports referring to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.  "The state visit of the President of the Turkish Republic Abdulla Gul to Kazakhstan will take place on December 13-15, during which Turkish President will hold negotiations with the leadership of our country," the press service of foreign policy department informed. During the visit business-forum of the representatives of business circles of two countries will be held. (Kazakhstan Today)

 

Seven Candidates to Run for Georgian Presidency
11 December
Seven candidates will participate at the presidential election in Georgia on January 5, 2008, the Georgian Central Election Commission told Interfax on Tuesday. Registration of presidential candidates ends at 6 p.m. on December 11. The following presidential candidates have been registered: Mikheil Saakashvili of the National Movement Party; David Gamkrelidze of the New Rightists Party; Levan Gacheladze of the united opposition; Shalva Natelashvili of the Labor Party; Irina Sarishvili of the Imedi Party; Giorgy Maisashvili of the Future of Georgia Party; and Arkady (Badri) Patarkatsishvili of the activist group of citizens. According to the Election Code, Georgian presidential candidates are protected by immunity. (Interfax)