By Ryan Kennedy (1/24/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: One year after President Nursultan Nazarbayev established his dominance over the Kazakhstani political system by winning 91 percent of the presidential vote, his Otan (Fatherland) party, re-enforced its position in Kazakhstan’s parliament, the Majilis. On December 22, the pro-presidential Civic Party, with its 160,000 registered members, and the Agrarian Party, with its 102,000 members, voted to join the President\'s Otan party. This past summer, the Asar Party, led by the President\'s daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva, made a similar decision to incorporate into Otan.

By Mamuka Tsereteli (1/24/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: After gaining full control over Armenia’s pipeline network and the Moldovan distribution network, as well as partial control over the Belarusian transit pipelines, Russia’s State-controlled gas monopoly, Gazprom, is getting closer to its ultimate goal to control all pipelines connecting the former Soviet Union’s states to other markets and potential suppliers. The same strategy is now being applied to Europe. Russia is the primary source for imported natural gas in most European states, and its role is set to increase in next decade, despite a potential shortage of the gas on the domestic market.

By Fariz Ismailzade (1/24/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: In December, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev traveled to Brussels to meet with EU and NATO officials, and to sign the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan. This agreement has started a new chapter and is aimed at further deepening relations between Azerbaijan and the EU and the integration of the country into European structures. Similar agreements have been signed with Armenia and Georgia, and Azerbaijan’s Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO is already under implementation.