Rice: U.S. not trying to poach Kazakhstan
5 October
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [1] said Sunday the United States is not attempting to poach Kazakhstan away from Russia. After meeting with Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Marat Tazhin, Rice dismissed accusations that the U.S. government has begun targeting Russian allies for diplomatic relations. Rice said while Kazakhstan may be a Russian ally, the country is not part of Russia's so-called sphere of influence. "First of all, Kazakhstan is an independent country. It can have friendships with whomever it wishes, and I think Kazakhstan has wished to have friendships and relationships with all of its neighbors," Rice said. "And that is, I think, perfectly acceptable in the 21st century, so we don't see and don't accept any notion of a special sphere of influence." Tazhin said while tensions are building between Russian and the international community, Kazakhstan had long enjoyed a ties with the United States. "At the same time, I should underline that our relationship with the United States has stable, has strategic character," he said. "And in 2006, during meetings of president of United States and president of Kazakhstan, it was very openly stated that our two countries have stable and strategic relationship." (UPI)
Abkhazia wants UN observer mission in Georgia to be renamed
5 October
Chief of the UN observer mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) Johan Verbeke has discussed the mission's further work with Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh and Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba. Bagapsh said during "closed-door" talks in Sukhumi that the format of the mission and the number of military observers must be altered and, most important, the name of the organization must be changed. "If it remains the UN observer mission in Georgia, let it do the observation in Georgia, not in Abkhazia," Bagapsh said, according to the presidential press service. However, Bagapsh showed interest in the UN mission's further peacekeeping activities. Verbeke said that the UN mission's mandate was expiring on October 15 and that the time left was not sufficient to restructure the mission and to change its format. Bagapsh met the argument with understanding, but insisted that the name of the mission be changed. Verbeke promised to inform the UN headquarters of the problems voiced. (Interfax)
Tajikistan jails warlord for killing BBC reporter
7 October
Tajikistan's supreme court has found a former rebel warlord guilty of murdering a BBC journalist in 1995 and jailed him for 15 years, a court spokesman said on Tuesday. Mukhiddin Olimpur, the BBC's chief Farsi language service correspondent in Tajikistan, was killed at the height of a civil war that pitted Tajikistan's Russian -backed government against an alliance of Islamists and liberals. The court spokesman said Nasrullo Sharifov, who fought on the Islamists' side as a field commander during the war, had been sentenced to 15 years for killing Olimpur.
"Sharifov was directly involved in the murder and confessed during the investigation and court hearings that he personally fired twice at Mukhiddin Olimpur from a Makarov pistol," the spokesman said. More than 100,000 people died on both sides during the war, which started shortly after Tajikistan gained independence from the Soviet Union and lasted until 1997. The conflict ruined the Muslim country's economy and infrastructure. President Imomali Rakhmon, credited at home for bringing stability after years of fighting and chaos, is criticised by liberals for tolerating little political dissent and not doing enough to fight poverty and corruption. (Reuters)
Quake in Kyrgyzstan kills 72 people
6 October
The death toll in an earthquake in southern Kyrgyzstan on Sunday has reached 72 people, Kyrgyz Minister for Emergency Situations Kamchibek Tashiyev said on Monday. The minister said 25 dead bodies have been retrieved from under the rubble. He does not rule out that after search-and-rescue work at the site of the tragedy the number of casualties can grow. The epicentre of the quake overnight to Monday was on the border with China, in the settlement of Nur, where it measured 8.0 on the Richter scale. Sources from the emergencies ministry say 95 percent of residential buildings were destroyed there. About 50 people received different injuries, including grave. Some of them are being evacuated to the regional centre, the city of Osh, on helicopters. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has offered condolences to his Kyrgyz counterpart Kurmanbek Bakiyev over multiple deaths and destructions as a result of the earthquake in Kyrgyzstan’s Osh region, the Kremlin press service said on Monday. In particular, in his message the president expressed Russia’s readiness for providing necessary assistance in the elimination of effects of the quake and offered condolences to relatives and next-of-kin of those killed, the press service said. (Itar-Tass)
SOCAR opens office in Kazakhstan
8 October
The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan said Wednesday it opened offices in Kazakhstan to facilitate oil exports between the two countries. Vurgun Jafarov with the Astana office of SOCAR told Trend Capital News the Kazakhstan division would allow both countries to work together to form a regional oil transporting system. As much as 375 million barrels of oil per year from the Kashagan oil field off the coast of Kazakhstan will be exported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline by 2013. The move comes as Western countries are focusing more intently on the Caucasus region and Central Asia as a source of energy. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [2] visited Astana during the weekend to meet with top officials to discuss energy security in the region in the wake of the conflict between Russia and Georgia. The visit came on the heels of a deal between U.S.-based ConocoPhillips and Mubadala Development Co. of the United Arab Emirates to develop the Kazakh energy sector. (UPI)
Lavrov Urges Arms Embargo on Georgia
8 October
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on October 8 an arms embargo should be imposed on Georgia. “We think the ideal way of ensuring security is an embargo on arms supplies to the present Georgian regime and it is our conviction that an international embargo on supplies of offensive weapons to Georgia is an urgent requirement,” Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying on October 8. Speaking at a press conference, Lavrov also spoke about the international talks due to take place in Geneva on October 15. “We will try to ensure that international observers in Georgia monitor areas from where artillery fire was opened against Tskhinvali,” he said. The Geneva talks on security and stability in the region will take place at the expert level on October 15. (Civil Georgia)
Lavrov: Georgia’s CIS Membership Suspended
9 October
The CIS foreign ministerial meeting in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek has suspended Georgia’s membership of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on October 9. “A technical decision was made to suspend Georgia’s membership of the CIS in accordance with its request,” Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying. President Saakashvili announced on August 12 that Georgia would leave the CIS, saying Russian troops would henceforth be deemed “occupational forces.” Two days later the Georgian parliament approved a decision to quit the CIS. The decision envisages withdrawing from three agreements – the 1991 treaty on setting up the Commonwealth of Independent States, the charter approved by decision of the CIS heads of states in January 1993 and an agreement on economic cooperation from September 1993. The CIS foreign ministers also decided to suspend the activities of the CIS peacekeeping forces in Abkhazia. “We have also decided to suspend the activities of the Collective Forces on maintaining peace in Abkhazia, which were created by decision of the CIS heads of states,” Lavrov told reporters. Russian troops were stationed in the Abkhaz conflict zone under CIS aegis. Their presence in the region was also envisaged in an agreement between the heads of Georgia and Russia, which said they would withdraw if either side demanded it. Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov said on October 8 that after recognition of Abkhazia’s independence by Russia, imposing CIS sanctions on Sokhumi has become senseless. On March 6 the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the country's withdrawal from the 1996 CIS treaty on imposing economic sanctions on Abkhazia. Denisov also said that Russia did not oblige other CIS member states to do the same in respect of the economic sanctions against Abkhazia. (Civil Georgia)
Georgian, U.S. Defense Ministers Meet in Budapest
9 October
Military assistance to Georgia and Georgia's NATO aspirations were discussed during talks between U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his Georgian counterpart, Davit Kezerashvili, in Budapest on October 9. The meeting was held on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO defense ministers. After the talks, Kezerashvili told Georgian reporters that a Georgian delegation would visit the United States in late October to discuss issues “on which the U.S. may assist us.” According to official reports, U.S. military assistance will be aimed at strengthening Georgian air defenses. “They [the American side] will do their best to persuade countries, which may still have particular doubts about granting MAP to Georgia,” Kezerashvili said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in St. Petersburg on October 2 that it was “too soon” for NATO to provide MAP to Georgia and Ukraine. A NATO ministerial meeting is due to discuss the issue in December. Meanwhile, the NATO-Georgia Commission will hold its first session at ministerial level on October 10 to discuss political and security cooperation matters. (Civil Georgia)
CIS still ready for Georgia to return to alliance
10 October
Heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States member countries said that the alliance is still open for Georgia, which withdrew its membership last month, the organization's executive secretary said on Friday. Georgia notified the CIS executive committee of its desire to quit the Russian-dominated alliance of former Soviet states on August 18, 2008 after a five-day war with Russia over the Georgian breakaway republic of South Ossetia. Its withdrawal will come into effect next August. "The heads of states said that the doors of the CIS are still open for Georgia," Sergei Lebedev said. The CIS summit was held in Kyrgyzstan, which holds the organization's rotating presidency this year. The CIS comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Ukraine is a founding and participating country but technically not a member state. Turkmenistan holds associate status. (RIA Novosti)
Bishkek summit makes energy key area of CIS cooperation in 2009
10 October
CIS presidents have accepted an initiative put forth by Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to recognize cooperation in the energy sector as a key area of cooperation between CIS member-nations in 2009. At their summit in Bishkek on Friday, CIS leaders also approved some 20 documents aimed at advancing joint efforts of CIS member- countries in the economy, security and the social sector. They declared 2009 the CIS' Year of the Youth, adopted a statement calling for more vigorous cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, and approved a 2009-2011 program intended to help crack down on illegal immigration. CIS presidents also confirmed an action plan designed to help prepare events as part of celebrations for the 65th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi troops. The plan includes a military parade in Moscow involving World War II veterans from the CIS, the Baltic nations and countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. The document also puts focus on fulfilling international treaties offering benefits and guarantees for WWII veterans, civilian workers and the families of killed soldiers. CIS member-countries agreed to consider setting the size of pensions paid to WWII veterans and people related to them at no lower than the subsistence level. They also promised to take measures to provide them with apartments. (Interfax)
Two people injured in explosion of army truck in Ingushetia
10 October
Two Interior Troops' soldiers were injured after an explosive device went off near an Ural truck carrying them on a road in Malgobek, Ingushetia at 12.30 p.m. Moscow time on Friday, the press service of the Ingush investigative Committee told Interfax. "Two soldiers of the Interior Troops were injured in an explosion of an unidentified explosive device on a roadside as the Ural truck was passing by," the press service said. The soldiers were hospitalized, and but are not in a critical condition, the press service said. Investigators are working on the scene. A criminal case on charges of an attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer (Article 317 of the Russian Criminal Code) and illegal acquisition, storage and transportation of arms (Article 222 of the Russian Criminal Code) was opened. (Interfax)
‘Buffer Zones’ Removed, but Occupation Continues – Saakashvili
10 October
Russia has mostly removed its “buffer zones”, but Russian forces still remain in the Akhalgori district and the occupation of Georgia’s conflict regions still continues, President Saakashvili said on October 10. Saakashvili was speaking at a joint press conference after talks with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Batumi. “We have not returned to the August 7 status quo and we plan to work over this issue with the French and other partners at the Geneva talks,” he said. Speaking at the press conference, Kouchner said that the Russians had left most areas, but “I know that the Akhalgori district still remains occupied.” He acknowledged that the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement did not directly mention the Akhalgori district, merely “the adjacent areas.” “It remains a problem and we should return to this issue at the Geneva talks,” Kouchner added. President Saakashvili said his ultimate objective was to see the Russian occupation in all areas of Georgia come to an end. “Georgia will never yield to occupation or aggression,” he said. “The struggle of the Georgian people for freedom and de-occupation will continue until the last Russian solder leaves the territory of Georgia.” He stressed that Georgia still faced Russian aggression. He thanked European partners because “they did not leave Georgia alone in front of this aggression.” (Civil Georgia)
Saakashvili Asks EU to Probe Ethnic Cleansing
10 October
President Saakashvili said on October 10 that Georgia had urged the European Union to send a special mission to assess alleged ethnic cleansing resulting from Russian aggression. Saakashvili was speaking at a joint press conference after talks with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Batumi. The Georgian president welcomed “the most important part” of the resolution adopted by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on October 2, which deals with alleged ethnic cleansing. “The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly was the first international parliamentary body to underline the ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories of Georgia,” Saakashvili said at the joint press conference. (Civil Georgia)
Deadly quake strikes Chechnya
11 October
A strong earthquake hit Chechnya and other parts of Russia's North Caucasus Saturday, killing at least 12 people and damaging scores of hospitals, schools and other buildings, emergency officials said. The quake hit around 1 p.m. (0900 GMT) and was centered northeast of the Chechen capital, Grozny, Russian emergency officials said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor had a magnitude of 5.3. At least 12 people were killed in the quake and a series of aftershocks, which were felt throughout the North Caucasus and which rattled Grozny for more than 30 seconds, the regional Emergency Situations Ministry office said. The toll was expected to rise as officials got information from outlying districts. Most victims were killed by falling debris or furniture in homes and apartment buildings, said Oleg Grekov, a regional emergency official. More than 60 people sought medical help in the hardest hit Chechen towns, which included Grozny and Gudermes, he said. Russia's Caucasus Mountain region only sees occasional earthquakes. Most buildings are not reinforced against severe structural shocks and even small quakes can cause serious damage. Emergency officials said buildings in some districts saw serious structural damage, including hospitals in two Chechen districts. Chechnya is one of Russia's poorest regions, having suffered through two devastating wars in the past 15 years. Many people in the region are unemployed, and sporadic fighting between separatist rebels and federal and regional forces erupts regularly. (AP)
NATO-Georgia Commission Meets in Budapest
11 October
The NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) met on October 10 for the first time at ministerial level to discuss the alliance’s assistance to Georgia in recovering from the recent conflict. NATO defense ministers discussed with their Georgian counterpart, Davit Kezerashvili, the coordination of assistance in areas such as defence and security cooperation, security sector reform and airspace management, NATO said in a press-release. The NGC was established in September 2008 during a visit of the North Atlantic Council to Tbilisi. Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili said after the meeting that he hoped MAP would be granted to Georgia. "We believe that this issue will be solved in favour of Georgia and we will receive MAP," he told reporters. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in St. Petersburg on October that it was “too soon” for NATO to provide MAP to Georgia and Ukraine. (Civil Georgia)
Slain Taliban leader was Pakistan officer
12 October
A Taliban commander killed by British forces in Afghanistan last year was actually a Pakistani military officer, Afghan sources say. The Taliban commander was one of six killed in the past year in Helmand province by British special forces, who allegedly discovered a Pakistani military ID on the body, The Sunday Times of London reported. The newspaper said its sources confirmed that British officials have covered up what was the first physical evidence of covert Pakistani military operations against British forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan claims it is a close ally of the West in its war against terror. The Times said Britain's refusal to acknowledge the incident led to an argument with Afghan President Hamid Karzai [3], who allegedly claims London mistakenly views his country through the filter of Pakistani military intelligence. Many believe elements of the Pakistan service have been helping the Taliban. (UPI)
Momentum builds for Taliban negotiations
13 October
Afghan President Hamid Karzai [4] and U.S. and British officials have concluded there can be no military victory over Taliban insurgents, Time Magazine says. All are privately, and to a greater degree publicly, advocating negotiation of a political deal with the Islamist militants as military force has proved largely ineffective at eliminating their insurgency, the magazine reported Monday. Karzai last week appealed to Taliban leader Mullah Omar [5] for peace and offered to talk, it said. The overture came after last month's Ramadan meeting of government representatives, former Taliban leaders and Saudi King Abdullah in Mecca. Brig. Mark Carleton-Smith, Britain's top military officer in Afghanistan, told a British newspaper, "We're not going to win this war," and that at best NATO troops could only hope for is to reduce it "to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat." British Ambassador Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles [6] reportedly said in a leaked diplomatic briefing the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan "is doomed to fail." U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates [7] this month said the Bush administration now believes the only way to win the Afghan war is "through political means." (UPI)
13 October
The European Union has dropped its remaining sanctions against Uzbekistan, except for an arms embargo, a source in the French Foreign Ministry said Monday. The decision follows the release earlier this year of several human rights activists. The sanctions, including travel bans for top Uzbek state and government officials, were imposed in 2005, following the shooting of demonstrators in the city of Andizhan. France currently holds the EU's six-month rotating presidency. In May 2007, foreign ministers of 27 European Union nations extended sanctions on Uzbekistan, introduced over the violent suppression of an uprising in the country that came to be known as the Andizhan massacre. The sanctions were triggered by the Uzbek authorities' refusal to allow an international investigation into the events in the eastern city. Rights activists alleged that troops opened fire on thousands of protesters. Official statistics said 187 people were killed but rights groups said the death toll was far higher. The EU previously said it might review the sanctions if Uzbekistan agreed to continue negotiations on civil rights and freedoms in the Central Asian republic. (RIA Novosti)
Senior Afghan provincial official slain
14 October
A senior provincial official was killed by gunmen in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and five Taliban militants were slain in Ghanzi province Tuesday, officials said. Dost Mohammad Arghistani, head of the Kandahar province's Department of Martyrs and Disabled, was shot dead by armed motorcyclists Tuesday morning, a spokesman for Gov. Zalmay Ayubi told KUNA, the Kuwait news agency. Arghistani's driver was also injured in the attack. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, U.S.-led coalition troops said they had killed five militants during in an operation in Ghazni province, including a Taliban commander. A coalition statement said the armed militants fired on coalition troops as they approached. Coalition forces Sunday said they killed five Taliban militants in the same province, KUNA reported. In central Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, a remote-controlled mine struck a bus, killing nine civilians including three boys, provincial officials told CNN. They said most of the victims were on their way to the town of Deh Rawod. Six others were reported wounded in the blast. (UPI)
NATO 'ignores' Russia's offer to help fight Afghan drug trade
14 October
NATO has ignored numerous Russian proposals for cooperation via the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the fight against drugs and terrorism in Afghanistan, Russia's UN envoy said on Tuesday. "The alliance has still not responded, although objectively speaking, such interaction would raise the efficiency of efforts of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan," Vitaly Churkin said at a Security Council session on Afghanistan. The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a security grouping comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Churkin said Russia is concerned over increasingly frequent Afghan civilian deaths during operations carried out by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, and urges for measures to be taken to stop the killings. He also said Russia is ready to continue providing economic aid to Afghanistan. He stressed that Russia is taking part in a number of projects to restore the country's energy and transport infrastructure. The envoy also said Russia has made a significant contribution to the country's economic stabilization by writing off last August around 90% of Afghanistan's Soviet-era debt, to a total of $11.1 billion. (RIA Novosti)
Kazakhstan to supply BTC
14 October
Oil from the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan will travel via rail to tankers on the Caspian Sea to move through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, officials said. BP Azerbaijan, the operator of the 1,099-mile BTC pipeline, said Chevron-Texaco, which runs Tengiz, will move oil along several land and sea routes to BTC by the second half of October, Trend Capital News reported Tuesday. Chevron-Texaco said it has plans to improve oil production significantly by the end of the year and is looking to expand transportation capacity to Azerbaijan and to Black Sea ports near Georgia. Chevron-Texaco owns nearly a 9 percent stake in BTC along with its operations at Tengiz. Oil reserves for the field in western Kazakhstan total 8.43 billion barrels. Operations through BTC were interrupted by the August conflict between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia, as well as a fire at a pumping station in Turkey, also in August. (UPI)
Democratization of Turkmenistan has become irreversible – Berdimuhamedow
14 October
The activity of international observers at the upcoming parliamentary election in Turkmenistan should not be restricted, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow said signing into law a bill on the Turkmen parliamentary election. "We should show and prove to the world that the further democratization of Turkmen society has become irreversible after the adoption of the new Constitution. This is a guarantee of building a just and human state which protects people's interests," Berdimuhamedow said. "No one should stand away from the organization of the Turkmen parliamentary election, the result of which will be the election of decent people and high professionals who people respect in the parliament," the president said. In line with the new edition of the Constitution, adopted on September 26, 2008, the People's Council was abolished, and its powers and functions were distributed between the president and the parliament. (Interfax)
Georgia Says Russian Aircraft Violate its Airspace
14 October
Five Russian aircraft violated Georgian airspace on October 13, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. It said that two aircraft entered Georgian airspace over the Kazbegi region at 9:57am local time, flying over the Java area in breakaway South Ossetia, and returned to Russia at 10:01am. At 10:29am and 12:27pm local time three military aircraft flew into Georgian territory, flying over the Oni area in the Racha region, Sachkhere in the Imereti region, Java, Tskhinvali, and returned to Russia through Kazbegi, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.“Yet another incursion of Russian military aircraft into Georgia’s sovereign airspace indicates that Russia is continuing its aggression against Georgia,” an MoFA statement reads. The Ministry urged the international community to take urgent measures “to prevent Russian aggression.” (Civil Georgia)
Exit polls show Aliyev sweeping Azerbaijan presidential vote
15 October
Incumbent Ilham Aliyev swept to victory in Azerbaijan's presidential election Wednesday, exit polls showed, maintaining his grip on power in the strategic oil-rich former Soviet republic. Aliyev won the election with 80.5 percent of the vote, an exit poll conducted by the local Rey ("Opinion") polling firm said. Opposition candidate Gulamhussein Alibayli came a distant second with only 5.4 percent of the vote, the head of the firm, Rizvan Abbasov, told reporters. A second exit poll, by the local ELS Independent Research Centre, gave Aliyev 82.6 percent of the vote, the centre's head Irada Yagubova said in televised remarks. She said results for other candidates would be released Thursday. Polling stations closed at 7:00 pm (1400 GMT) after 11 hours of voting. The Central Elections Commission was due to begin releasing preliminary results later Wednesday. Leading opponents boycotted the vote, accusing Azerbaijani authorities of persecuting the opposition, muzzling the media and fixing previous polls. The names of six other candidates appeared alongside Aliyev's on the ballot, but all were loyal to the authorities and some had not even bothered to campaign. Analysts had said the only question was by how wide a margin the 46-year-old Aliyev, son of previous president Heydar Aliyev, would surpass the other contenders. Heydar Aliyev dominated political life here for more than 30 years. By 5:00 pm (1200 GMT), turnout had reached 64.7 percent, the elections commission reported. (AFP)