Newspaper "24 Hours"

N215 (44) Tuesday, March 15th, 2005

Today

Main
News
Politics
Economy
Various

All Tenders

RUSSIA REPUDIATES ISTANBUL COMMITMENTS IN JCG MEETINGS

On November 9 and 16, the OSCE�s Joint Consultative Group (JCG), meeting in Vienna, witnessed Russia�s overt repudiation of its obligation to withdraw its troops from Georgia and Moldova. . . .

ABKHAZIA�S COUNCIL OF ELDERS CONVENES TO ADDRESS CURRENT CRISIS

Abkhazia�s political polarization deepened suddenly on November 17, amid continuing attempts by presidential election loser Raul Khajimba and his Moscow backers to prevent the election�s winner, Sergei Bagapsh, from taking . . .

Ukraine Isn�t the Only Target

The Kremlin-led assault on democracy in Ukraine, ongoing these past few months, is the latest and most visible move in a strategy that extends to the entire EU/NATO neighborhood, even . . .

MOSCOW SCUTTLES OSCE YEAR-END CONFERENCE

Russian hegemonic claims regarding Georgia, Moldova, and now also Ukraine, torpedoed the OSCE�s year-end meeting at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Sofia on December 6-7. The annual . . .

RUSSIA EXPLOITS THE OSCE TO PRESSURE GEORGIA

The OSCE�s failed year-end meeting in Sofia on December 6-7 also marked its conclusive failure as a would-be security organization. Russia demonstrated that it could kill the OSCE�s one and . . .

OSCE �REFORM� - OR A NEW LEASE ON LIFE?

With two weeks remaining from the OSCE�s 2004 budgetary authorization, Moscow threatens to block adoption of the 2005 budget unless the organization introduces Russian-proposed �reforms.� Those proposals seek to: boost . . .

BALTIC DILEMMAS AND THE MOSCOW SUMMIT

On January 12, Latvia’s President Vaira Vike-Freiberga announced that she would be attending the VE-Day 60th anniversary summit to be held in May in Moscow. The issue is deeply controversial . . .

MOSCOW THREATENS, SLOVENIAN CHAIR DITHERS, UKRAINE RALLIES AT OSCE

Addressing the 2005 inaugural session of the OSCE Permanent Council on January 13, Russia openly threatened to sink the organization unless it accepts Russian-prescribed �reforms.� Permanent representative Alexei Borodavkin declared, . . .

Moscow Threatens Georgia as Bush-Putin Summit Nears

Testing the West’s collective credibility, Russia is again fabricating pretexts for possible military action on Georgian territory, ostensibly to go after “Chechen and international terrorists” in the Pankisi Gorge. This . . .

UN SECURITY COUNCIL’S HANDLING OF ABKHAZIA: A DISQUIETING PRELUDE TO BUSH-PUTIN SUMMIT

On January 28, the UN Security Council (UNSC) voted to approve a routine six-month extension of the UNOMIG (UN Observer Mission in Georgia) mandate to observe the ceasefire in Abkhazia. . . .

YUKOS CASE REVERBERATING IN LITHUANIA AND FAR BEYOND

In a further disquieting signal ahead of the upcoming George W. Bush—Vladimir Putin summit (see EDM, January 31), the White House announced on January 31 that the United States would . . .

AZERBAIJAN’S PRESIDENT IN IRAN

Some flowery rhetoric from Tehran notwithstanding, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev’s January 24-26 official visit to Iran turned out to be a routine event that confirmed the tension-free relations between neighboring . . .

KREMLIN REDEFINING POLICY IN “POST-SOVIET SPACE”

In a marathon-length press conference on February 3, Kremlin political consultant Gleb Pavlovsky laid certain Russian markers in Eurasia ahead of the George W. Bush-Vladimir Putin summit and, by the . . .

KWASNIEWSKI, TARASYUK URGE A EUROPEAN SOLUTION IN TRANSNISTRIA

“Ukraine is the start, next up is Moldova,” Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski told the Wall Street Journal on February 17, referring to Poland’s active role in shaping European Union policy . . .

MOSCOW MULTIPLYING EXTRANEOUS PRECONDITIONS TO TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA

After a two-year interruption and ten years of futile talks, another round of Russian-Georgian negotiations on the withdrawal of Russian troops was held in vain on February 10-11 in Tbilisi. . . .

Black Sea Watch

Romanian President Traian Basescu’s just-completed first visit to Moscow occasioned discussion on a new proposal on Black Sea sub-regional security. The matter came up during Basescu’s session with Russian President . . .

“DOUBLE VECTOR,” DOUBLE GAME: MOLDOVA’S CENTRIST OPPOSITION AND MOSCOW

The presidents of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, and Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, held meetings with Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin on March 1 in Kyiv and March 2 in Chisinau, treating him as . . .

PRO-WESTERN GOVERNING COALITION POSSIBLE IN MOLDOVA

On March 11, Moldova’s Central Electoral Commission released the final results of the country’s March 6 parliamentary elections. The outcome, verified by election observers in parallel vote-counting, shows the Communist . . .

YUSHCHENKO PROPOSES INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM FOR CENTRAL ASIAN GAS

On an official visit to Ashgabat on March 22-23, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko proposed creating an international consortium to build, own, and operate a new large-capacity gas pipeline from Turkmenistan . . .

BEWARE OF TRAPS IN GEORGIA-RUSSIA TROOP WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT

The Georgian Parliament passed a resolution on March 10 that requires Russia unconditionally to withdraw its forces from Georgia no later than January 1, 2006 — unless Moscow reaches agreement . . .

RISKS IN GEORGIA’S JAVAKHETI PROVINCE CAN BE DEFUSED

Presidents Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia and Robert Kocharian of Armenia met informally on April 1-2 in the Georgian mountain resort of Gudauri, without media coverage. Their agenda included the situation . . .

The Jamestown Foundation

BMO RIP; TAP STILLBORN

On April 14 in Vienna, the OSCE’s Permanent Council approved a Training Assistance Program (TAP) for Georgian Border Guards to replace the OSCE’s Georgia Border Monitoring Operation (BMO). Russia had . . .

The Jamestown Foundation

EU POLICY DISARRAY IN GEORGIA AND MOLDOVA

Javier Solana’s ill-prepared, mishap-filled visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi (see EDM, April 11) culminated with an incident that was kept under wraps for some days before finally . . .

The Jamestown Foundation

GUAM SUMMIT: A NEW LEASE ON LIFE (PART 2)

The meeting of presidents of GUAM countries (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova) in Chisinau on April 21-22 has the potential to turn GUAM from a virtual into a real and possibly . . .

VORONIN REQUESTS NATO IPAP, WESTERN SUPPORT TO RESOLVE TRANSNISTRIA

On June 7 in Brussels, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin addressed the North Atlantic Council (NAC, the main decision-making body of NATO) in ambassadorial session, as part of NATO-Moldova consultations within . . .