12 February
in an interview [1] published on Thursday, President Karzai insisted that there have been contacts between the US government and the Taliban, as well as contacts between the Afghan government and the Taliban. "And there have been some contacts that we have made, all of us together, including the Taliban," he told the Wall Street Journal. He said Pakistan's co-operation would make the process easier. The paper reported that Mr Karzai refused to go into details about the talks. The Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, later described the contacts with the Taliban as "exploratory". "They are not talks. We have not reached that stage," ambassador Umar Daudzai told Reuters. The Afghan leader has already held talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Analysts say Mr Karzai may seek access to Taliban leaders believed to be in Pakistan. The Afghan leader has good relations with Pakistan's civilian politicians, but ties have often been tense with the military, whom he accuses of backing the Taliban. (BBC)
Ahmadinejad: Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan ‘united’
17 February
Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to work together to promote stability, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said. He also accused 'foreigners' of trying to dominate the region, after he held talks with Afghan and Pakistani leaders in Islamabad. But the summit was marred by a row between Afghanistan and Pakistan over peace talks with the Taliban. (BBC)
Ban hails Kyrgyz reform
17 February
Kyrgyzstan's peaceful transfer of power in the wake of a 2010 coup should serve as an example to other countries in the region, the U.N. secretary-general said. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met in Vienna with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazabayev to discuss reconciliation efforts in the Central Asian country. Kyrgyzstan elected its first new government last year after an April 2010 coup led former President Kurmanbek Bakiev to flee to Belarus. Following the coup, at least 470 people were killed in ethnic conflicts near Osh and Jalal Abad. Few skirmishes were reported last year, though ethnic tensions between Uzbeks and Kyrgyzs continued and human rights officials said torture in the country was systemic. Nevertheless, Ban, in a statement issued through his spokesman's office, praised the Kyrgyz minister for the relative peace. "The secretary-general said Kyrgyzstan's peaceful transfer of power was an important step toward consolidating democracy in the country and was an example for other countries in the region," his statement read. Protesters loyal to the opposition in neighboring Kazakhstan demonstrated in January after the ruling Nur Otan party of President Nursultan Nazarbayev won 80 percent of the vote. Its borders with Turkmenistan were closed earlier this month as a precaution ahead of Turkmen presidential elections. (UPI)
Uzbek-language Wikipedia pages blocked
17 February
Uzbek-language articles in the Wikipedia multilingual encyclopedia are blocked in Uzbekistan, regional news outlets reported, with some blaming the government. Almost 8,000 entries in the Uzbek language appear to be blocked, Ferghana.ru in eastern Uzbekistan reported. Users trying to access the Uzbek site are redirected to the MSN.com news aggregator operated by Microsoft Corp., Ferghana.ru and CA-News.org said. The site is accessible from outside the country, United Press International confirmed, and the blockade does not include Wikipedia in other languages, the Uzbekistan news sites said. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti blamed the government in Tashkent for the blockage to central Asia's most populous nation and said the government blocked the Uzbek-language pages of the encyclopedia at least two other times, in 2007 and 2008. EurasiaNet.org said Tashkent has blocked hundreds of Web sites for years, including EurasiaNet.org. Tashkent had no immediate comment despite a spokesman promising to offer one Friday to RIA Novosti. Uzbekistan has 30 million people, with almost 9 million Web users, government statistics released last month indicated. Wikipedia is Uzbekistan's 10th most visited Web site, statistics cited by Ferghana.ru said. The site had 7,883 articles late Friday, a UPI spot check indicated. Press-freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders has cited Uzbekistan for online censorship, landing the country on its 2011 list of "enemies of the Internet." (UPI)
RZD Logistics still has no plans to form JV with Kazakhstan Railways - source
14 February
OJSC RZD Logistics (RZDL), a subsidiary of OJSC Russian Railways (RTS: RZHD) (RZD), has no plans so far to form a joint venture (JV) with national company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (Kazakhstan Railways), a source at RZDL told Interfax. "We have an interest in working with them. A partnership memorandum was signed in November. But we still don't plan to form a JV," the source said. Kazakhstan Temir Zholy's vice president for logistics, Yerkhat Iskaliyev, earlier told journalists that both companies are working on forming a logistics operator using the Kazakh company as base, which would "operate with RZD Logistics on a parity basis." "As a start, we're forming an alliance on an alliance basis. Later, a JV might be formed," Iskaliyev said, declining to provide further details. RZD founded RZD Logistics in 2010 as a 100%-owned subsidiary. The company offers a full range of transport and logistics services ("door to door services") thanks to their integration as a single system in the RZD Holding. (Interfax)
Baku invites more to Turkish gas line
14 February
Azerbaijan would appreciate major international companies taking part in a natural gas pipeline planned through Turkish territory, an executive said. The State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic has a majority interest in the Trans-Anatolia gas pipeline planned with Turkish Pipeline Corp. SOCAR President Roynag Abdullayev said alongside Turkish officials that more partners were welcome to join the transnational pipeline. "We would like other large international companies to be part of the project as well," he was quoted by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman as saying. The Turkish pipeline is considered a blow to European plans to build the Nabucco pipeline for Europe through Turkey. European leaders are searching for ways to break Russia's grip on the energy sector through a series of transit networks dubbed the Southern Corridor. Of those, Nabucco is the most ambitious, though it's also the most expensive and lacks firm commitments from gas-rich countries like Azerbaijan. Abdullayev countered that the Turkish pipeline, dubbed TANAP, isn't a competitor to Nabucco. "The two projects are in synergy and they add value to each other," he said. (UPI)
Atambayev says no foreign troops at Manas after 2014
20 February
Kyrgyzstan President Almazbek Atambaev has announced at a meeting with visiting U.S. State Department officials that that "no foreign troops" should remain at Kyrgyzstan's Manas airport after 2014. The United States military pays Kyrgyzstan to use facilities at Manas, near Bishkek, as a transit center for U.S. operations in Afghanistan.
Atambaev is quoted as making the statement while meeting with a U.S. delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Susan M. Elliott on February 20. Last week, Atambaev vowed to demand overdue fees from Moscow for Russian military assets based on Kyrgyz soil. The Kyrgyz president is scheduled to soon have talks with the Russian leadership in Moscow. Kyrgyzstan hosts a Russian long-distance communication center and a torpedo-testing base, among other facilities. (RFE/RL)
Afghan kuran ‘burning’: US apologizes
21 February
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has apologised to the Afghan people for an incident in which copies of the Koran were reportedly burned. Mr Panetta said the US military respected the religious practices of the Afghan people "without exception". The Nato commander in Afghanistan, US Gen John R Allen, has already announced an inquiry into the incident. Reports suggest the US had confiscated materials that they suspected Taliban prisoners were using to send messages. News of the incident has triggered angry protests outside the US base at Bagram, north of Kabul. One person was wounded and five were detained when Nato forces used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. "This morning Gen Allen notified me of the deeply unfortunate incident involving the inappropriate treatment of religious materials, including the Koran, at Bagram Airbase," a statement from Mr Panetta said. "He and I apologise to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms. "These actions do not represent the views of the United States military. We honour and respect the religious practices of the Afghan people, without exception." Mr Panetta said he supported Gen Allen's decision to launch an inquiry. Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the reports that the Koran had been burnt. The Taliban said the incident would hurt the feelings "of one billion Muslims around the world". Reports said the Korans had been found in piles of rubbish that Nato had transported in a lorry on Monday night to a pit on the base where waste is burned. Afghans working at the pit are believed to have seen the religious books and stopped the disposal process. (BBC)
Five Kazakhs Sentenced On Terror Charges
21 February
Five men in Kazakhstan have been sentenced on terrorism charges to jail terms varying from five to 13 years in the northwestern city of Aqtobe. The men were found guilty on February 21 of creating an illegal armed group and of organizing and conducting a bombing in Aqtobe's suburbs in July 2011 which killed two suspects and one policeman. In a separate incident in May 2011, a resident in Aqtobe carried out what was described as the first ever suicide bombing in Kazakhstan, blowing himself up at the entrance to the National Security Committee's local branch and injuring three men. Investigators said the bomber was a member of an extremist Islamic group. (RFE/RL)
Kazakh former nuclear company executive arrested in Canada
21 February
The former vice president of Kazakhstan’s KazAtomProm national nuclear company has been arrested in Canada.
The Kazakh National Security Committee announced on February 21 that Rustem Tursynbaev, 49, was arrested on February 10 for violating Canada's immigration laws. Tursynbaev is wanted in Kazakhstan for allegedly creating and leading a criminal group, embezzlement, tax evasion, misappropriating the property of others, and money laundering. Tursynbaev’s ex-boss, KazAtomProm’s former President Mukhtar Dzhakishev, was found guilty in March 2011 of corruption and sentenced to 14 years in jail. A new criminal case was launched against him later last year. Dzhakishev insists he is not guilty. His supporters and relatives say both of the cases against him are politically motivated. (RFE/RL)
Six dead in Afghanistan Koran burning protests
22 January
At least six people have been killed and dozens injured in Afghanistan after protests spread over the burning of copies of the Koran at a US airbase. One person was killed in Kabul, one in the eastern city of Jalalabad and at least four in Parwan province. US officials apologised on Tuesday after Korans were "inadvertently" put in an incinerator at Bagram airbase. The ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson says the incident was an unfortunate mistake. (BBC)
Region on alert, arrests in Azerbaijan
22 January
Authorities in Azerbaijan say they've arrested several Iranian intelligence and Hezbollah activists who were allegedly planning attacks on foreigners. The Azeri national security agency announced the arrests Tuesday, while the state-owned television reported those arrested had been gathering intelligence and acquiring explosives and weapons, Haaretz.com reported. The arrests follow a similar action last month, in which three men were detained for allegedly planning to attack two Israelis employed by a Jewish school in the Azeri capital of Baku. Tensions between Iran and the West arising from Tehran's nuclear program appear to have spread to the south Caucasus, with the arrests and an attempted bomb attack on an Israeli embassy vehicle last week in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, which borders the oil-rich Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan also borders Iran. Israel blamed Iran and Hezbollah for the Tbilisi attack and for a similar bombing in New Delhi and blasts in Bangkok. Iran and Hezbollah denied the charges. A report in the Tehran Times, quoting Fars News Agency, accused Azerbaijan of harboring a Mossad agent accused of being involved in the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist. A BBC report said the strategic importance of the Caucasus grows with the development of energy resources in Azerbaijan and in the Caspian Sea that are carried through pipelines to markets in the West. Georgia political analyst Alexander Rondeli told the BBC the region has become like Switzerland prior to World War II as a center fr spying: "Everyone is using the South Caucasus for this hidden war. No doubt about it." The report said while Georgia and Azerbaijan, formerly part of the Soviet Union, have ties to Iran, both also are allies of the West, supporting NATO efforts in Afghanistan, and any major conflict in Iran is bound to spill over into the region. (UPI)