Company authorized to supply gas to Tskhinvali

22 January

Itera-Georgia, one of five gas distributor companies in Georgia, has received a permission from the Georgian government to supply gas to breakaway South Ossetia. The Georgian Energy Ministry said on January 22 that it had issued permission “upon the request from European Union and OSCE.” “Itera-Georgia is now holding negotiations with [Russia’s] Gazprom on import of gas volumes, which is required for the region,” the ministry said in the statement. A special governmental permission is needed for conducting commercial activities in breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the line with the law on the occupied territories [4], passed by the Georgian Parliament in October, 2008. Gas supply to breakaway South Ossetia was disrupted on August 8 after the damage of the Agara-Tskhinvali pipeline following the launch of military hostilities in the region.  The pipeline was damaged on the Georgian side of the South Ossetian administrative border, close to the village of Dirbi. The Georgian state-owned Gas Transportation Corporation started pipeline repair works on January 15 and the pipe was already fixed [5] by January 16. (Civil Georgia)

Medvedev, Karimov to discuss security in Central Asia, Afghan settlement- Kremlin source

22 January

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Uzbek President Islam Karimov are expected to discuss security and stability in Central Asia and ways to broaden bilateral cooperation in neutralizing the most serious present-day challenges – international terrorism, organized crime and the drug threat - during Medvedev's state visit to Uzbekistan on January 22 and 23. Special emphasis will be paid to the world financial crisis and on Russian-Uzbek cooperation as part of the world community's efforts to facilitate the inner Afghan settlement and that country's economic revival, a Kremlin source told Interfax, while speaking about the international agenda of the visit. The president will discuss the activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to prepare a SCO summit, set for the summer of 2009. "There will be a committed discussion of cooperation in the Commonwealth of Independent States, in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and in other international organizations," he said. The visit is to begin with a trip to Samarkand, Karimov's native city, where the two leaders will have an informal meeting. Talks will be held in Tashkent on the next day with the participation of Russian and Uzbek delegations, comprising ministers, lawmakers and major businessmen. "Serious attention will be given to the prospects of expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation, primarily in the fuel and energy sector, aircraft construction, transport and mining," the Kremlin source said. Russian-Uzbek trade was about $3.09 billion in January to November 2008, up 5.6%, year-on-year. Exports reached $1.85 billion up 18.8% and imports were $1.237 billion. Russian companies Gazprom (RTS: GAZP), Lukoil (RTS: LKOH), Stroitransgaz, Zarubezhneftegaz, Technopromexport , Zarubezhneft, Volga Dnepr Group, the West Urals Machine Building Concern and others are working in Turkmenistan. "The Uzbekistan summit is expected to further develop active contacts and the trustful summit dialogue, based on the principles of strategic partnership and allied relations," the Kremlin source said. (Interfax-AVN)

Former Tajik gas official urged reduction in dependency on Uzbek gas

23 January

The former head of the gas monopoly TajikGaz says that, before he was fired last week, he had proposed that Tajikistan increase natural gas exploration and build alternative pipelines to avoid paying high prices for Uzbek gas. Fathiddin Muhsiddinov told RFE/RL's Tajik Service that pipelines could be built from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan via Afghanistan.Tajikistan has to pay $240 per 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas to Uzbekistan, from whom it gets the majority of its gas. But Uzbekistan often doesn't deliver gas that it agrees to, causing severe heating problems for Tajikistan.Ivan Gogolev, spokesman for Russia's Gazprom Zarubezhneftegaz, confirmed to RFE/RL that his company received four licenses to develop gas fields in Tajikistan and that exploration will start soon. (RFE/RL)

Saakashvili: Putin is Georgia’s enemy

23 January

President Saakashvili said in his televised question and answer session with public on January 23, that Georgia has no enemy like Russia’s Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, for centuries. Georgia has not had enemy like Putin after Shah Abbas,” he said, referring to Abbas I, the Shah of Persia notorious in Georgia for his invasion of Georgia's eastern region of Kakheti in the early 17th century. “Our goal is to save the Georgian statehood, if our statehood survives the territorial integrity will be restored and our enemy knows it very well. Our enemy has not achieved its goal to destroy to destroy our statehood,” Saakashvili said and added that “the enemy” has not yet stopped its efforts to undermine the Georgian state. (Civil Georgia)

Sources say Iran running out of uranium

24 January

Iran could run out of yellowcake uranium within the next few months, forcing it to seek the nuclear fuel source elsewhere, sources say. Unidentified diplomatic sources said with Iran running low on the uranium ore byproduct, countries such as Britain and the United States are taking steps to prevent the Middle East nation from obtaining more from major uranium producers, The Times of London reported Saturday. Diplomats in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Brazil have already received letters from Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office requesting that uranium-producing countries not to sell any to Iran. Iran's depleting cache of yellowcake uranium was purchased from South Africa in the 1970s, The Times reported. Uranium is a key component in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons, as well as for civilian electrical power production. The Times said Iran has been struggling to produce enough uranium ore from its own mines to support its nuclear program. (UPI)

Armenian president pardons 16 people convicted for March 1, 2008 unrest in Yerevan

24 January

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has issued a  decree  pardoning  16  people convicted of involvement in mass unrest that took place in Yerevan on March 1, 2008. "Sixteen convicts serving sentences ranging from two to three years have been  pardoned"  in  line with Sargsyan's decree of January 24, the presidential press service told Interfax on Saturday.  The  people  were  found  guilty  of  participating in mass unrest, illegally  carrying,  acquiring, using, transporting, or selling weapons and ammunition, and resisting police on March 1, 2008, it said. Sargsyan  pardoned these people, "taking into account the convicts' pleas addressed  to the president, the absence of past criminal records, family circumstances, and health status," he said. The  president had earlier pardoned 12 other people found guilty of the same crimes. Following  presidential  elections  on  February 19, 2008, Armenian opposition  activists  led  by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who again aspired  to  the  presidency,  refused  to  recognize the official results  of the elections and organized mass protests. On March 1, 2008, these protests grew into clashes with police, which left ten people dead and more than 250 injured.(Interfax)

Kazakh refinery online by 2012

26 January

Oil refineries in the Kazakh province of Mangistau could be completed as early as 2012, officials said following a tour of the region. Construction on the oil refinery in the western portions of the province is slated to begin in 2009. Upon completion, it could produce some 7.3 million barrels per year, the Interfax news agency in Kazakhstan reported Monday. The estimates followed a visit to the region by Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov. The three oil refineries in Kazakhstan currently produce a total of 110 million barrels of oil per year. Domestic consumption is about 88 million barrels per year.Kazakhstan is looking to escape the economic turmoil hitting major markets by moving to diversify its future energy export potential. (UPI)

Tajik leaders discuss Afghan ties

26 January

The United Nations has increased efforts to improve cooperation between Afghanistan and neighboring Tajikistan to strengthen security and economic ties. Kai Eide, U.N. secretary-general special representative to Afghanistan, recently met with top authorities in Tajikistan, including President Emomali Rahmon and Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi, to discuss ways Tajikistan and Afghanistan could collaborate, the United Nationsreported. Eide said the meeting, which included topics on combating the flow of narcotics out of Afghanistan and strengthening cooperation on agriculture and energy, among other efforts to bolster stability in the region, marked a positive step forward in ongoing efforts to improve Afghanistan's relations with its neighbors."It is important to explore opportunities for win-win cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbors," Eide said in a statement. "I see real opportunities and hope very much that these opportunities can be built upon." (UPI)

Kyrgyz oppositional figure gets top government job

26 January

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev has named an opposition politician as first deputy prime minister, as part of a reshuffle analysts have linked to the 2010 presidential election. Omurbek Babanov, 38, ran for the Central Asian state's parliament in 2007 as a member of the moderate opposition Social Democratic Party. He has since quit politics to concentrate on business, but retained party membership. Last week, Bakiev dismissed several government officials [6] but has not explained his motives. Analysts say he could be trying to boost his team before the presidential election. "New approaches and measures are needed to tackle issues related to our country's development," Bakiev's press service quoted him as saying. "We are betting on young people with new ways of thinking who can swiftly take adequate measures." Also on January 26, Bakiev named Kadyrbek Sarbaev, former ambassador to China, as foreign minister. Kyrgyzstan, home to a U.S. and a Russian military base, has been volatile since 2005 when Bakiev came to power after mass street protests ousted his long-serving predecessor. Public criticism of Bakiev has been on the rise as the impoverished ex-Soviet state struggles with a deepening economic crisis and energy shortages. (Reuters)

Burjanadze hints on presidential ambitions

26 January

Nino Burjanadze, a former Parliamentary Chairperson, who now leads the opposition Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, said it was natural if a person who had twice been an acting president to have an ambition of running for president. When asked whether she would run if the early presidential elections are held, Burjanadze responded: “Let’s at first achieve early polls and then talk about it.” She, however, then continued: “Of course when a party, whose leader has twice been an acting president and served two terms as the parliamentary chairperson – this party, as well as it leader - has an ambition to gain victory in any elections.” Burjanadze served as acting president first after the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze in November, 2003 and then after President Saakashvili’s resignation in November, 2007. Speaking live on the public TV’s weekly program, Political Week, on January 25, Burjanadze also said that coordinated efforts of the opposition parties and the society’s consolidation around the demand of holding early presidential election was needed to make the authorities call the early polls. (Civil Georgia) 

Analysts counter Iran’s pipeline claims

27 January

Ecological concerns raised by Iran regarding planned infrastructure developments [7] in the Caspian are purely political, analysts say. Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noqrekar Shirazi told state media Monday Iran is opposed to the construction of the planned 434-mile gas artery across the Caspian seabed because of the potential for environmental damage. Rasim Musabeyov, an independent political scientist based in Baku, Azerbaijan, said those comments were veiled criticisms that reflect Iran's intent to thwart developments in the Caspian region supported by Western nations, Azeri news agency Today.Az reported Tuesday. Musabeyov said any development on the estimated $5 billion Trans-Caspian pipeline system [8] to traverse the Caspian Sea "undermines the system of monopolies established by Iran and Russia on the European markets." The Trans-Caspian system would run from Kazakh ports across the Caspian to Baku. Its estimated capacity approaches 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year. The Trans-Caspian system may be necessary if Caspian suppliers commit to the planned Western-backed Nabucco gas artery to Europe, which is intended to ease regional dependency on Russian natural resources. (UPI)

Russian Defense ministry demands that Georgia release Russian sergeant

27 January

The  Russian  Defense Ministry demands  that Georgia urgently release Junior Sergeant Alexander Glukhov who was  captured  in  South  Ossetia,  Acting  Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexander Drobyshevsky told Interfax on Tuesday. "The preliminary investigation has shown that Alexander Glukhov was captured  by  the  Georgian  forces  in  the  Akhalgori  district, South Ossetia, and taken to Tbilisi," he said. Alexander  Glukhov  served in South Ossetia and was to be dismissed from military service in spring, he said. The Georgian media reports that Glukhov allegedly left the military unit on  his  own free will and crossed into Georgia are an "information provocation," he said. "Glukhov   could  say  anything  when  subjected  to  psychological pressure or threats," he said. Drobyshevsky  was  commenting on the statement made by Glukhov that was shown  on  Georgian  TV:  "I  ask the Georgian president to grant me political asylum, I cannot support the sufferings inflicted upon Russian soldiers. I hope asylum will be granted to me." Glukhov  went AWOL the other day and surrendered to Georgian police because  he  could  not  tolerate  the hardships of military service and asked the Georgian president to grant him asylum. Meanwhile  the  Georgian  Foreign  Ministry  said  Glukhov  was not detained and proposed to organize his meeting with Russian diplomats. "He  is  free both in his location and in his choice either to stay in Georgia  or to leave for Russia," Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili told Interfax on Tuesday. Glukhov  was  not  detained  by the Georgian forces, he can stay in Georgia  for  treatment and rehabilitation or he can return to his unit, Utiashvili said. All Russian Defense Ministry assertions that Glukhov was allegedly aptured by the Georgian special services were disinformation," he said. (Interfax-AVN)

Taliban calls Guantanamo closure “positive step”

28 January

The Taliban have told U.S. President Barack Obama that his plan to close Guantanamo Bay prison camp was a "positive step" but peace was only possible if he withdraws U.S. forces from Afghanistan and Iraq. The Taliban, toppled in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, also told the new president that sending more troops to Afghanistan "and the use of force against the independent peoples of the world, has lost its effectiveness." A day after being sworn in last week, Obama ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where prisoners have been detained for years without charge, some subjected to interrogation that human rights groups say amounted to torture. Obama has ordered a full review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, where he has pledged to boost troop levels and take the initiative against the growing Taliban insurgency. Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in the remote, mountainous border region of Pakistan near Afghanistan. "Obama's move to close Guantanamo detention center is a positive step for peace and stability in the region and the world...," the Taliban said in a message posted on Islamist websites, monitored by the U.S.-based terrorism monitor, the SITE Intelligence Group. The message said Obama had to reverse the policies of former President George W. Bush in Afghanistan and the Islamic world. "If Obama is right and, according to his words, wants to open a new page based on peaceful interaction built on mutual respect with the Islamic world, the first thing he has to do is to stop and annul all these procedures, which were created according to Bush's criminal policy," it said. "He must completely withdraw all his forces from the two occupied Islamic countries [Afghanistan and Iraq], and to stop defending Israel against Islamic interests in the Middle East and the entire world," the Taliban message said. (Reuters)

Georgia agrees to restrict troops on Abkhaz, South Ossetia borders

28 January

The Georgian Defense Ministry and the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) have signed a memorandum that restricts Georgian troop movements along the borders with its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. EUMM sources say it is hoped that Russia will do the same in the near future. Tbilisi-based political analyst Archil Gegeshidze told RFE/RL's Georgian Service that the EUUM is trying to strengthen security measures in Georgia's border region to be able to address any Russian military concentration on the other side of the border.Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states in August after the Russian-Georgian military conflict. Moscow has kept its troops in the two Georgian regions since then. (RFE/RL)