RUSSIA CLOSE TO REGAINING CONTROL OVER STRATEGIC GEORGIAN ASSETS
By Mamuka Tsereteli (9/11/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: In late August the Georgian Government had a series of negotiations with Itera International Energy LLC on privatization of the Tbilisi natural gas distribution company Tbilgazi. Those negotiations were conducted on the backdrop of the fact that Georgian state owned entities owe to Itera $90 million for the natural gas delivered to Tbilisi and the Chemical plant in Rustavi in recent years (the official Georgian number mentioned in relation to this deal is $32 million). As a result of negotiations, the Georgian government signed a memorandum of understanding, which envisages creation of a joint venture between the Georgian government and Itera, with the latter having 51 percent and control over the management of the company.
IS RUSSIA'S PRESSURE ON GEORGIA BACKFIRING IN CHECHNYA?
By Svante E. Cornell (10/9/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The conflict in Chechnya has been deadlocked for almost two years, with a low-intensity conflict going on between Russian Federal troops and Chechen irregular formations. As Russian and foreign journalists have reported in graphic detail, the Chechen civilian population presently bear the brunt of the war. The Russian military is bogged down in Chechnya, affecting its internal discipline and morale negatively in a way similar to what occurred during the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
KYRGYZSTAN IS DESPERATELY SEARCHING FOR OIL
By Rafis Abazov (10/9/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Oil was first discovered in Kyrgyzstan in the early 1900s and by 1913 the first oil-field in the Maili-Suu region was producing 3,000 tons of oil annually for industrial consumption. Oil extraction gradually increased and peaked in 1960 when a total of 464,000 tons were extracted. But in the 1970s and 1980s, Kyrgyzstan considerably reduced oil extraction, switching to imported petroleum despite the fact that the consumption of oil nearly tripled in the 1970s and nearly doubled in the 1980s.
THE RUSSIAN BOURBONS: CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS AND PRESSURE ON GEORGIA
By Stephen Blank (10/9/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Throughout 2002, Russia has threatened to invade and even fence off a section of Georgia's Pankisi and Kodori Gorges because Chechen forces operate there with impunity. Admittedly, Georgia has clearly lost control of these regions and have had little stomach for cleansing them. However, Russian leaders claim that Georgian authorities actively cooperate with Chechen terrorist operations and duly invoke the UN resolutions on terrorism of September, 2001 and Article 51 of the UN charter to defend against "aggression".
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Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, "Promise and Peril in the Caucasus," AFPC Insights, March 30, 2023.
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Putin's War In Ukraine and the Crimean War), 19fourtyfive, January 2, 2023
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Russia Needs Its Own Charles de Gaulle, Foreign Policy, July 21, 2022.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Rethinking Greater Central Asia: American and Western Stakes in the Region and How to Advance Them, June 2022
Oped Svante E. Cornell & Albert Barro, With referendum, Kazakh President pushes for reforms, Euractiv, June 3, 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell Russia's Southern Neighbors Take a Stand, The Hill, May 6, 2022.
Silk Road Paper Johan Engvall, Between Bandits and Bureaucrats: 30 Years of Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan, January 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell, No, The War in Ukraine is not about NATO, The Hill, March 9, 2022.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Kazakhstan’s Crisis Calls for a Central Asia Policy Reboot, The National Interest, January 34, 2022.
Book S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell, Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, December 2021.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr & Albert Barro, Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President Tokayev, November 2021.