Field Reports
COLLAPSED BUILDING REVEALS GOVERNANCE PROBLEMS IN AZERBAIJAN
By Azer Kerimov (9/5/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On August 28, a 16-story building collapsed in the center of Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. The building was about to be completed, and several families had even moved into apartments on the first and second floors. According to official data, fifteen persons who had been working in the building as laborers died, and three more were wounded.
SOVIET LEGACY: TAJIK-UZBEK WATER DISPUTES
By Sergey Medrea (9/5/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Bilateral relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have hardly been friendly and constructive since the 1990s, but now, with Tajikistan seeking to become a leading power exporter and Russia agreeing to finish the construction of the Rogun hydroelectric station (represented by RAO EES instead of the privately owned Rusal), energy politics may cause even further tensions with Uzbekistan.
During the proceedings of the Shangai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit held in Bishkek, Uzbek president Islam Karimov expressed worries over transnational water issues. Consequently, he asked for guarantees that the construction of new hydroelectric stations will not disrupt established water-sharing practices – and that the interests of the downstream states (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) will be taken into consideration.
PRESIDENT KARIMOV VOICES ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
By Erkin Akhmadov (9/5/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
During the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit that took place in Bishkek on August 15-16, 2007, the leaders of the five member states discussed issues of energy, security and cooperation. The speech of Uzbekistan’s President emphasized the importance of regional security in light of the situation in Afghanistan and environmental issues with stress on the water resources.
Many issues of regional and organizational concern were raised at the summit.
RENEWED CONTACTS BETWEEN ARMENIANS AND AZERBAIJANIS BRINGS NEW HOPE TO STALLED CONFLICT
By Haroutiun Khachatrian (7/11/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The recent visit of the joint delegation of intellectuals of Azerbaijan and Armenia to the capitals of both countries and to the unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic may mark a turn in Azerbaijan’s tactics into a more flexible approach. If this policy is continued, it may have good impact for decreasing tension among the participants of the conflict and make the search for compromises easier.
On July 28, a joint delegation including five Armenians and five Azerbaijanis, led by the ambassadors of Armenia and Azerbaijan to Russia, Armen Smbatian and Polad Bul-bul Oglu, made a joint trip to Stepanakert, Yerevan and Baku to meet, respectively, the president of the unrecognized Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Arkady Ghukasian, the presidents of Armenia Robert Kocharian and of Azerbaiajn, Ilham Aliyev.
Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, "Promise and Peril in the Caucasus," AFPC Insights, March 30, 2023.
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Putin's War In Ukraine and the Crimean War), 19fourtyfive, January 2, 2023
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Russia Needs Its Own Charles de Gaulle, Foreign Policy, July 21, 2022.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Rethinking Greater Central Asia: American and Western Stakes in the Region and How to Advance Them, June 2022
Oped Svante E. Cornell & Albert Barro, With referendum, Kazakh President pushes for reforms, Euractiv, June 3, 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell Russia's Southern Neighbors Take a Stand, The Hill, May 6, 2022.
Silk Road Paper Johan Engvall, Between Bandits and Bureaucrats: 30 Years of Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan, January 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell, No, The War in Ukraine is not about NATO, The Hill, March 9, 2022.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Kazakhstan’s Crisis Calls for a Central Asia Policy Reboot, The National Interest, January 34, 2022.
Book S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell, Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, December 2021.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr & Albert Barro, Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President Tokayev, November 2021.