NORTH Caucasus Insurgency Makes Inroads To Tatarstan, Bashkortostan
by Emil Souleimanov 05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Recently, a number of observers have pointed to the increasing threat of militant Salafism in the Volga-Ural region, namely, the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan inhabited by a Muslim majority population. Whilst assessments of the severity of the present threat vary, most specialists admit that what is considered the spread of Jihadism to the Russian hinterland should be regarded in light of the ongoing insurgency in the North Caucasus. This article aims to explore the links of North Caucasian insurgents to the Volga-Ural region and the potential of “Wahhabi terrorism” particularly in Tatarstan
Why The South Caucasus Needs A Stronger U.S. and European Policy
by Mamuka Tsereteli (05/15/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The South Caucasus has been on the radar screen of U.S. policy makers since the mid-1990s, when the region was seen as an integral part of the pro-active U.S. security and energy policy towards Europe. Those policies resulted in several pipeline projects that connected Azerbaijani resources via Georgia and Turkey to European and world markets. Today, after several years of decline in U.S. strategic interests towards Europe, the U.S. is revitalizing its focus through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Initiative. This opens new opportunities for countries that are not members of the European Union, but aspire for integration into the Trans-Atlantic strategic and trade space.
India's ONGC Plans To Bring Russian Hydrocarbons To South Asia
by Gulshan Sachdeva (05/15/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
After years of discussions on TAPI and IPI, the Indian public sector giant ONGC now plans to bring Russian hydrocarbons to India via Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. If taken seriously by all concerned parties, the project has the potential to fundamentally change the energy security scenario of India as well as Pakistan, offer vast new markets for Russian hydrocarbons and provide an economic cushion for Afghanistan in its decade of transformation.
Facing Growing Iranian Threats, Azerbaijan Deepens Ties To Israel
by Robert M. Cutler (05/15/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Iranian legislators in Teheran have drafted a bill calling for revision of the 1828 Treaty of Turkmanchay, which divided the multiple Azerbaijani khanates between the Russian and Persian Empires. While this cannot be taken wholly seriously, it is a symbol of the deterioration of bilateral relations. It comes against a background of worsening rhetoric between Teheran and Baku, which have in the past extended into subversive actions by Iran on the territory of Azerbaijan. It is thus in the line of longstanding Iranian threats against Azerbaijani sovereignty and the government of President Ilham Aliyev.
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