MARCH 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a protocol that officially cleared Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) later this year, Russian media reported. Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia are already members of the EEU.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A planned visit by Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili to Kiev has been delayed without explanation, Georgian media reported. Georgia has been a vocal supporter of the Kiev government in its conflict with Russia-back rebels but it was irritated by Ukraine’s promotion of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili as an adviser.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia, NATO and various Western powers criticised a deal made between Russia and the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia as a threat to regional security.
The day before, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an “alliance and integration” deal with South Ossetia. Georgia said this was virtually an annexation of the region.
“It’s a cynical and provocative step by Russia,” media quoted Georgian foreign minister Tamar Beruchashvili as saying. “We consider it a move aimed at annexation.”
Relations between the West and Russia are particularly strained at the moment over the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea last year and its involvement in funding rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Under the deal, S.Ossetia’s security forces become aligned to Russia’s. This is similar to deal already signed by Abkhazia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – China has opened up negotiations on building a transport and logistics hub in north Kazakhstan, media reported. China would use the hub to send goods to Russia and to Europe. Kazakhstan has been promoting itself as a stage-post between Europe and Asia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan has signed a three year extension to a contract with Afghanistan to maintain the 75km railway from Hairstan, on the Uzbek-Afghan border, to Mazar-i-Sharif, media reported. Reports said the contract was worth $19m/year to Uzbekistan. This is a rare Uzbek service export.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president, Serzh Sargsyan, visited China, signing various deals with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and pledging greater cooperation between the two countries.
Short on regional allies, Armenia is looking for cash and investment to help it out of a worsening economic situation. It is currently overly reliant on Russian business and aid.
With this in mind, Mr Sargsyan’s trip to China was an important one.
“The Chinese government will encourage domestic enterprises to participate in transportation, mining, electricity, information technology and infrastructure sectors in Armenia,” the Xinhua Chinese state information agency quoted Mr Xi as saying.
This is exactly what Mr Sargsyan wanted to hear. Armenian state media said that Chinese trade had increased in importance over the past year and now accounted for 10% of Armenia’s total trade turnover, up from 8% in 2013.
Importantly, too, Mr Xi accepted an invitation to visit Armenia. For Armenia, successfully courting China is important.
China, eager to boost its regional presence, has probably found a willing partner in Armenia.
Perhaps also linked to this general diplomatic push, Armenia said that it is opening a consulate in Ebril, the capital of Kurdish Iraq.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union’s (EEU) first year is shaping up to be one to forget.
A sharp devaluation in the value of the rouble, triggered by Western sanctions and falling oil prices, and meddling in Ukraine’s civil war have hit Russia’s credibility among its former Soviet partners. After a meeting in Astana, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appeared to distance himself from the Kremlin.
Mr Nazarbayev hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko at the meeting. Armenia, the fourth member of the EEU, didn’t attend.
Mr Nazarbayev appeared to suggest that Mr Putin’s alleged support for rebels in eastern Ukraine had gone too far.
“It is important for any decisions that get made to rely on fundamental principles of international law. We are interested in Ukraine staying a stable, independent, territorially integral country,” he said.
Apparent tension at the meeting in Astana between the leaders wasn’t contained to Ukraine.
Mr Putin once again brought up the prospect of a single currency throughout the Eurasian Economic Union, something that Mr Nazarbayev has already ruled out.
“The time has come to start thinking about forming a currency union,” news reports quoted Mr Putin as saying. Mr Putin also suggested a Central Bank for the single currency could be based in Almaty.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)
MARCH 13 2015 (The Bulletin) – Unnerving its three partners, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan said he would skip a meeting of the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in Astana on March 20, media reported.
His absence from the meeting has triggered questions about Armenia’s commitment to the project which it has only just joined.
The meeting between President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and President Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus is billed as an important one to navigate out of the financial crisis.
It had been postponed from March 13 to March 20. Kazakh officials initially said Mr Putin was too unwell to attend.
But Armenia — the fourth member of the economic group — has chosen not to attend. Armenia only joined the EEU, which morphed out of the Customs Union, on Jan. 1.
It has always been considered a supporter of Russia which it relies upon for economic and military support.
Armenia’s government didn’t explain why Mr Sargsyan would not fly to Astana for the meeting. Instead a senior official said the meeting had been organised to sort out problems which did not concern Armenia.
Perhaps, but it has created noise around Armenia’s potential unhappiness around the state of the region’s finances so much so that the Kremlin was bounced into releasing a press statement which said that Mr Putin and Mr Sargsyan had shared a telephone conversation during which the Russian leader had been reassured of Armenia’s good intentions.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is heading to Central Asia for his first overseas trip since re-emerging into public view.
He is due to fly to Astana for a summit with his Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts on March 20.
The meeting was postponed from March 13. Kazakh officials at first said that the meeting had been delayed because Mr Putin was ill. Russian officials denied this, keeping people guessing on just why he cancelled several appointments and disappeared for a few days without explanation.
And Central Asia has played a prominent role in the episode. Mr Putin used a brief video with visiting Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev on March 16 to show the world that he was not hiding. He previous public appearance had been on March 5.
The summit with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has also stirred controversy, although this time not by Mr Putin.
It appeared to be a meeting of the heads of state of the Eurasian Economic Union members, except that the group’s newest member, Armenia, was missing.
This set off rumours that Armenia had grown increasingly disinterested in the Russia-led group since joining in January, especially given the context of the increasingly painful economic downturn.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has had to step in and reassure both Russia and the general public that this was not the case. Instead, he said, the meeting just didn’t include Armenia.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian president Vladimir Putin is due to fly to Astana on March 20 for a meeting with his Kazakh and Belarusian counterparts, his first overseas trip since he disappeared from public view for a few days. Mr Putin’s disappearance sparked speculation that he was ill.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
