By Stephen Blank (4/19/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Although its policies in the Caspian basin have generally been circumspect, Iran is not necessarily a status quo power in this region. It attacked Azerbaijani oil platforms in 2001 and subsequently threatened Kazakh explorations in the Caspian in disputes over who owns that sea’s waters. Since then, in 2002 the U.By Taleh Ziyadov (4/19/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The idea of connecting the rail networks of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey was first discussed during the Joint Transport Commission meeting in July 1993. The initiative was later integrated into the Master Plan on the Trans-European Railway (TER) networks sponsored by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). In July 2002, the Ministers of Transport of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey signed a protocol confirming the route and at a February 28, 2005 meeting the parties agreed to conduct a feasibility study.By Mamuka Tsereteli (4/19/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: In late March-early April, Russian authorities banned imports of Georgian and Moldovan wines under the pretext that they do not meet Russian consumer standards. This decision follows a similar demarche in December 2005, when Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture imposed temporary restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Georgia to Russia. At that time, Russia banned Georgia’s citrus products, which indeed caused serous harm to Georgian producers.By Nicklas Norling (4/5/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Before the break-up of the Soviet Union, Central Asia played an active role in the development of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) due to its massive reserves of uranium tapped for fissile material. As the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Soviet military-industrial complex left behind significant amounts of WMD as well as poorly guarded reactors and facilities for uranium enrichment. These facilities have been of increasing concern for the states in the region, as well as the United States, as nuclear weapons and material could get into the hands of terrorists or rogue states.The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.
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