Tag Archives: security

US blocks Korea- Uzbekistan fight jet deal

OCT. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US government has blocked Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) , a South Korean firm, from selling a dozen T-50 Golden Eagle training fighter jets to Uzbekistan for $400m, the Korea Times newspaper reported.

Washington was reportedly concerned that technology used in T50s, which was co-developed by KAI and the US’ Lockheed Martin a decade ago, could be handed over to Russia.

“KAI has been in negotiations with the Uzbek government to export the supersonic trainers, but the US government is opposing the deal, citing possible technology leakage and diplomatic policy,” the Korea Times source said.

Uzbekistan is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation but not the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Russia-dominated military bloc of former Soviet countries.

Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer told the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the US’ worries were understandable.

“The decision has nothing to do with Uzbekistan. But Uzbekistan is a country in the Russian sphere of influence,” he was quoted as saying.

If confirmed, the ban on the sale of the T-50s to Tashkent could overshadow a planned visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry to Samarkand on Nov. 1.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan attempt to resolve border dispute

OCT. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Senior officials from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan agreed to meet on Nov. 5 in Bishkek to try and resolve the long running issue of border demarcation. Border disputes have strained relations between the two countries since independence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Kerry heads to Kyrgyzstan at start of Central Asia tour

OCT. 27 2015, BISHKEK (The Conway Bulletin) — US State Secretary, John Kerry, was due to fly to Kyrgyzstan on Oct. 31 for the start of his first tour of Central Asia, a stopover considered vital to repair relations with an ally that has drifted towards Russia over the past couple of years.

In Bishkek, Mr Kerry will hold bilateral discussions with senior Kyrgyz officials, including President Almazbek Atambayev, and open a new campus for the American University of Central Asia.

Top of Mr Kerry’s agenda will be the growing influence of Russia as well as a draft bill banning so-called gay propaganda and a law that bans local NGOs from foreign funding.

Marat Kazakpayev, a Bishkek analyst, said US investments and security would be discussed.

“They will discuss security in the region, including situation in Afghanistan and Syria, as well what to do to counter terrorism,” he said.

The US operated an airbase from the Manas airport outside Bishkek for 13 years until 2014 when it was wound down alongside military operations in Afghanistan.

For Mr Kerry and the US, this is an important trip to Central Asia.

It has ceded influence in the region to Russia and China. Russia has the historical, political and cultural links; China has the financial firepower.

In contrast, with the scaling down of military operations in Afghanistan, the US and the West have appeared to disengage with Central Asia. Mr Kerry’s main mission will be to re- assure the region’s leaders that the US is still interested in Central Asia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Taliban hides near Turkmen border

OCT. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Taliban fighters were hiding from Afghan government forces on an island in the Amu Darya, a river that marks the Afghan- Turkmen border. Worried about the impact on foreign investment, Turkmenistan has denied that Taliban activity along its border with Afghanistan is a threat to its security.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Tajikistan gives weapons to Taliban

OCT. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan gave weapons to the Taliban in Afghanistan in exchange for freeing four Tajik soldiers, a senior Taliban leader interviewed by The Daily Beast said. The soldiers, captured in December 2014, were released in June. A Taliban leader allegedly travelled to Dushanbe for the deal. The Tajik government has not commented.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 254, published on Oct. 30 2015)

Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan spat

OCT. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Turkmen foreign ministry complained to Kazakhstan about a statement made by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana last week when he alleged that there was fighting on the Turkmen-Afghan border. Media in Afghanistan reported fighting between the Taliban and government forces. Turkmenistan has refuted claims the fighting threatens its borders.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 253, published on Oct. 23 2015)

Germany quits military base in Uzbekistan

OCT. 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Germany will close its base in Termez, south Uzbekistan, later this year, marking the final withdrawal of Western military forces from Central Asia, media reported quoting official sources.

With operations in neighbouring Afghanistan winding down, it had only ever been a matter of time before the German base at Termez was closed, although the announcement did come just nine months after Germany said it wanted to extend the lifespan of the base.

The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quoted German military spokesman Dominik Wullers: “Termez right now is just a backup. We are not effectively using it right now, that’s the reason why we are closing it. Some [personnel] will be transferred to Mazar-e Sharif in Afghanistan where we have our base, while others will relocate to Germany.”

The US closed its airbase at Manas outside Bishkek last year and the French military has wound down operations in Dushanbe.

Some Uzbek analysts, though, said the withdrawal of Germany may be linked with Uzbekistan’s demand for a higher fee to rent the base. The Uzbek government had said the rental fee would double to 70m euro in 2016. In 2005, Germany had been paying Uzbekistan only 12.5 euro.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 253, published on Oct. 23 2015)

Armenia complains to NATO

OCT. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia has complained to NATO about an incursion by the Turkish military into its airspace earlier this month. Turkey is a NATO member and has stepped-up activity in the east of the country to counter the IS extremist group. Armenia’s military said that on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 a Turkish military transport helicopter strayed into its airspace.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 253, published on Oct. 23 2015)

Georgia’s rebel region wants referendum to join Russia

OCT. 20 2015, TBILISI (The Conway Bulletin) — Triggering a furious reaction from Tbilisi, the Georgian rebel region of South Ossetia said that it planned to hold a referendum on whether to join Russia.

South Ossetian leader Leonid Tibilov made the announcement after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, a vote that commentators said would mimic a similar vote in Crimea last year which preceded Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian region.

“The referendum, the positive outcome of which I have no doubt, will allow us to unite our people,” media quoted Mr Tibilov as saying after meeting Vladislav Surkov, an adviser to Mr Putin.

He didn’t put a timeframe on the vote but did say that it would only go ahead with the express permission from Moscow.

And this appeared to have disappeared very quickly. The following day, the Kremlin released a statement which said that a referendum on South Ossetia joining Russia had not even been discussed at the meeting.

Georgia fought a war in 2008 against Russia over South Ossetia. After the war, Russia recognised the independence of South Ossetia and Georgia’s other breakaway region of Abkhazia.

Only a handful of other countries followed the Kremlin’s lead and recognised South Ossetia’s independence.

Any referendum in South Ossetia would strain relations between Russia and Georgia and predictably the Georgian government reacted strongly to Mr Tbililov’s statement.

“It just confirms the provocative policy which Russia is pursuing on South Ossetia. It is a continuation of Russia’s policy of ‘creeping occupation’,”Gigi Gigiadze, Georgia’s deputy foreign minister, told media.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 253, published on Oct. 23 2015)

Kyrgyz prisoners escape

OCT. 22 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz police captured a group of criminals who escaped last week from a prison outside Bishkek. Five of the nine fugitives died, two in clashes with the police and three in custody. Families and human rights groups have asked for an investigation.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 253, published on Oct. 23 2015)