NOV. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said it welcomed the relaxation of international sanctions on its neighbour Iran. Iran and a group of five countries led by the US held negotiations in Geneva over Iran’s nuclear programme. In return for relaxing sanctions, Iran agreed to throttle back its uranium enrichment programme.
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(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)
NOV. 19 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met in Vienna for the first time in nearly two year to discuss the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The two leaders last met to specifically discuss Nagorno-Karabakh in June 2011. No details of their discussion were released.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan and Latvia appear to be getting cosy.
First, Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s visited Latvia in October, his first trip to the EU since Jan. 2011, and now Uzbekistan has hosted an Uzbek-Latvian business forum in Tashkent.
But Uzbekistan’s new improved relations with the EU doesn’t stop with Latvia. The next day a delegation from the Polish government held talks with the Uzbek government.
And to top off this flurry of EU wooing, media reports said that on Nov. 15 the Uzbek foreign ministry invited Yuri Strek, head of the EU delegation in Uzbekistan, to discuss bilateral ties.
Several years of EU-imposed economic sanctions and arms embargoes failed to yield any real improvement on human rights in Uzbekistan. The EU imposed the sanctions after Uzbek soldiers shot and killed hundreds of civilians in the town of Andijan in 2005. Uzbekistan has said the attack was targeted against Islamic insurgents.
Over the past few years, though, realpolitik has gained the ascendancy. Brussels first lifted travel sanctions on Uzbek officials and then invited Uzbek president Islam Karimov to visit the EU and NATO headquarters.
The EU needs Uzbekistan as a trade partner and an ally to help withdraw NATO soldiers from Afghanistan. Uzbekistan needs the EU to boost its international standing and to play off Russian and Chinese influence.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 15 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The head of the Uzbek parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Sadiq Safayev, poured cold water on Russian reports that Uzbekistan was considering joining the Moscow-led Customs Union. Uzbekistan is interested in developing bilateral relations with Russia but not in join the Customs Union, media quoted Mr Safayev as saying.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 14 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan opened embassies in South Africa and Vietnam, continuing its diplomatic roll our across the world. The next day Kazakhstan gained observer status at the African Union, the continent’s main political bloc, in Addis Ababa.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 18 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iran has accused Azerbaijan of torturing one of its citizens, Iranian media reported. The accusation that Azerbaijani security forces arrested Iranian Hassan Faraji then tortured him may inflame tension between Azerbaijan and Iran. Azerbaijan has previously accused Iran of plotting bomb attacks in Baku.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia will upgrade and strengthen its military base in Tajikistan to coincide with the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, media reported quoting Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister. Russia has said it is worried about the spread north of the Taliban once US-led forces leave Afghanistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 161, published on Nov. 20 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The deal has been in the making all year. It’s still not there, yet, but it is close.
Rosneft, a Russian energy company, signed a preliminary deal with Kazakh energy company Kazmunaigas and oil pipeline monopoly KazTransOil to transit oil to China.
A final deal is expected by the end of the year.
Russia is increasing exports to China but it has run out of pipeline capacity. Kazakhstan has invested hugely in expanding its pipeline network and has excess capacity so, for a fee, it has agreed to pump Russian oil east.
The deal is important because it further cements the Russia-Kazakhstan alliance; Kazakhstan is a member of Russia’s Customs Union and the two countries are integrating their defence systems.
It also highlights the importance of Kazakhstan’s pipeline infrastructure to China. Without it, China’s oil supply would be weaker.
Media reported that Russia plans, currently, to pump 140,000 barrels per day through Kazakhstan’s pipeline network. This, though, is expected to rise.
The final details have yet to be worked out but this is significant news.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 8 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in Malaysia sentenced three Uzbeks, two women and one man, to death after convicting them of trying to smuggle drugs into the country. Officials caught the three Uzbeks, one a pensioner and the other two unemployed, carrying 10kg of methamphetamine in their luggage at Kuala Lumpur airport.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — So-called roadmaps for Kyrgyzstan and Armenia to join the Russia-led Customs Union will be ready at the start of 2014, media quoted an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying. Currently only Belarus and Kazakhstan are members of the trade bloc. Analysts have said that Russia is using the Customs Union to expand its sphere of influence.
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(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
