In The News

The Russian-Turkish Rapprochement Could Benefit Armenia

Haroutiun Khachatrian February 3, 2005
As Turkey edges closer to integration into the European Union, long-standing problems on its opposite frontier are holding the country back. In addition to Turkey's troubled history of violence against its Kurdish minority, Turkish relations with neighboring Armenia have been strained for decades. Turkey has refused to recognize the killing of many Armenians in 1915 as "genocide,"...

Russia Faces Foreign Policy Debate for 2005

Igor Torbakov January 18, 2005
The Ukraine elections debacle was the most recent Russian foreign policy misstep. And according to this EurasiaNet commentary, the Kremlin now faces some important policy decisions. As its influence throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia wanes, the Putin administration may be losing the battle for regional influence – and its primary competitor is the West. Experts, however, disagree as to...

Quality Drugs, by the Kilo

Paul McGeough January 13, 2005
Three years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the country's narcotics industry is booming. Last year, 87 percent of the world's opium originated from the Afghan trade, and the United Nations has recently warned that the country - trading about US $2.8 billion in drugs - is becoming a "narco-state." And thus, despite the West's tough talk about eliminating the...

Uzbekistan's Democratic Smoke Screen

Paula R. Newberg December 20, 2004
Many predict a great victory for populist democracy in the Ukrainian recall elections on December 26th. That same day, writes Paula Newberg, democracy will also suffer a great blow in Uzbekistan's elections. Repression and poverty have stifled the country's economic and political ambitions since the fall of the Soviet Union. And its current president, Islam Karimov, strongly believes...

Business is Blooming

Peter Willems December 8, 2004
A recent United Nations report shows that Afghanistan's poppy production is reaching worrisome new heights. As newly-inaugurated president Hamid Karzai steps into the spotlight, the problems of opium growth continue to increase. The effort to stop the drug trade has been hampered by local infighting, governmental corruption, and an unsuccessful attempt to wean farmers off the profitable, but...

Central Asia: China's Mounting Influence

Jeremy Bransten November 24, 2004
From street markets to oil pipelines, China is extending its influence in Central Asian countries. As the Chinese economy booms, a major priority is securing natural resources to keep pace with demand. China and Kazakhstan have agreed to construct a regional pipeline, and in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, China has invested in hydroelectric projects. In addition to bolstering trade ties, Beijing...

Frustrations in Beijing

October 20, 2004
Because of geopolitical imperatives, Russia and China need each other's economic and political cooperation – all the more so, now that Putin is seeking to boost Russia's global influence in the US-dominated world order. According to this Japan Times editorial, however, recent speculation about a new Beijing-Moscow axis is exaggerated. The two governments sealed their relationship in...