By Suhrob Majidov (12/22/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)
During the international conference “Tajikistan and Russia-2010” in Dushanbe on December 9, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative Maksim Peshkov stated to journalists that Russian border guards are ready to return to protect the Tajik-Afghan border. The statement drew attention from both Tajik and Russian authorities and experts, as it seems that Tajikistan would rather receive Russian support in a different form.
Russian border guards left the Tajik-Afghan border in 2005, when an agreement on the withdrawal of Russian border troops was reached.
By Georgiy Voloshin (12/22/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On December 10, 2010, the Russian capital hosted two high-level gatherings at the same time – the summits of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The participating heads of state discussed the current state of economic integration as well as the future of their military cooperation aimed at strengthening collective defense capabilities after the June 2010 tumult in Kyrgyzstan.
One of the major outcomes of the CIS summit was the signing of a number of important documents, such as the Concept of a youth policy development strategy up to 2020, the Schedule of events for implementation of the concerted border policies, and the Joint Program of Action against terrorism, extremism, organized crime and drug trafficking.
By Erkin Akhmadov (12/22/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The 56 members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe attended the OSCE summit that was held in Astana, Kazakhstan on December 1-2. While almost all the states were represented by their presidents, Uzbekistan’s president did not attend the summit and sent the Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Norov instead. In addition, on December 2, U.
By Tavus Rejepova (9/1/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Over the past few weeks, controversy has emerged in Turkmenistan over what is termed a ‘dual citizenship and passport fiasco’ in the country. The Turkmen authorities unexpectedly announced the cancellation of the dual Turkmen-Russian citizenship and started enforcing this regulation at the airports, seaport and railway stations across the country. Since the news were first not publicly announced in the media, a sudden enforcement of these regulations caught the holders of a double citizenship by surprise and created confusion among those wanting to travel abroad.
The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with Johns Hopkins University's Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst brings cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.