JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan and Pakistan have agreed on a price for electricity, a diplomatic source told Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper, clearing a major obstacle for the CASA-1000 project. CASA envisages Tajikistan supplying Pakistan with electricity. Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif visited Dushanbe earlier this month.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Western military alliance would propose closer cooperation with Georgia but would not offer it the full membership that it so desperately craves, media reported. NATO holds its AGM in Cardiff in September.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan concluded a two day trip to Tbilisi by saying the two countries’ different strategies towards Russia and the EU could strengthen their relations. Georgia has chosen closer ties to the EU while Armenia has looked to Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 190, published on June 25 2014)
JUNE 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso visited Baku in a strong show of support for strengthening relations with Azerbaijan.
Mr Barroso pledged not only the EU’s full support for the Southern Corridor, an energy transit route from the Caspian Sea, but also support for a pact to further push Azerbaijan towards Europe.
Europe’s main motivation for the Southern Corridor — hinged around a gas pipeline linking the Caspian Sea to central Europe — is to reduce its reliance on Russia for its gas supplies. Azerbaijan’s motivation is to link directly to a major client.
But talk of another deal moves EU-Azerbaijan relations on to another level. Potentially, at least.
“We held a very successful meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, and made important decisions, one of which was to hasten the completion of a new agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU,” media quoted Mr Barroso as saying.
Russia is likely to look poorly on any move by Azerbaijan to integrate more closely with Europe. Just as with Ukraine and Georgia, Russia considers Azerbaijan to be part of its patch.
Three days after Mr Barroso’s visit to Baku, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov flew into town for bilateral talks. He is sure to make this point to the Azerbaijani leadership.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Civil liberties in Azerbaijan have worsened considerably in the past five years, US Deputy Secretary of State, Thomas Melia said. Mr Melia’s statement during a testimony before the US Helsinki Commission were particularly poignant from a US diplomat.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s lower house of parliament ratified a deal that will increase the amount of Russian oil pumped through Kazakh pipelines to China to 10m tonnes per year from 7m tonnes per year. The deal highlights Kazakhstan’s role as a oil transporter, and not just a producer, to China.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia is looking to build and launch its first satellite, all with Chinese support, media reported. The deal highlights the increased reach of China across the South Caucasus and Central Asia. It is increasingly turning to soft power — building roads and helping with technology — to win favour.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia and Russia met for their 28th round of talks since the two neighbours fought a war in 2008. The two-day talks in Geneva are an important step towards normalising relations. Georgia- Russia ties have improved since 2012 when the party of Georgia’s former leader Mikheil Saakashvil started to lose power.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Pakistan’s PM Nawaz Sharif flew to Tajikistan for a two day trip that is seen as vital in pushing through joint energy projects. One proposal is the CASA-1000 project which would allow Pakistan to import electricity from Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
JUNE 13 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a year-long pilot project starting on July 15, Kazakhstan will drop visa requirements for citizens staying for up to 15 days from 10 countries, media reported. These countries are the United States, the Netherlands, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Japan.
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(News report from Issue No. 189, published on June 18 2014)
