By Maka Gurgenidze (11/26/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The mediated talks between Georgia, Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Geneva on November 11 failed both to produce an agreement to release the four Georgian teenagers detained by South Ossetian authorities and to address the insecurity of the breakaway regions at a more fundamental level.

The South Ossetian authorities detained four Georgian teenagers on November 4 on charges of illegal border crossing. The Georgian, Russian and South Ossetian sides have been negotiating over the issue with the active participation of the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM), however without results.

By Chemen Durdiyeva (11/26/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

While concern over the expansion of the H1N1 pandemic is increasing worldwide, the leadership in Turkmenistan claims the country is safe from swine-flu transmission and that proper preventive measures have been taken in the country. However, recent panic and confusion in different cities of Turkmenistan paints a quite different picture.

When the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alert level from 4 to 5 in May, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov called for taking all necessary steps to prevent the swine-flu from entering Turkmenistan.

By Erkin Akhmadov (11/26/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

In early November, representatives of Uzbekistan’s state stock company “Uzbekenergo” announced the decision to withdraw from the Common Energy System (CES) of Central Asia. While the same intention had been declared several times during the year, the intention previously did not seemed serious. This time, however, Uzbek officials stated that they see no further incentives for staying in the CES, especially since the system is not capable of securing national energy systems from external factors.