News Digest
TAJIK OPPOSITION PARTY DEMANDS DETAILS OF LEADER\'S \'EXTRADITION\'
By empty (5/3/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Tajikistan\'s Democratic Party has sent a written appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov, and Tajik President Imomali Rakhmonov asking them to clarify the details of party head Muhammadruzi Iskandarov\'s transfer from Russia to Tajikistan, RFE/RL\'s Tajik Service reported on 2 May. Iskandarov, who was released from detention in Ru ssia in early April, had told his lawyers he was subsequently abducted in Russia and brought to Tajikistan by unknown individuals. Russian and Tajik authorities have not commented on the circumstances of Iskandarov\'s return to Tajikistan.KYRGYZ ASABA PARTY NOMINATES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
By empty (5/3/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The political council of Kyrgyzstan\'s Asaba party has nominated the country\'s acting Prosecutor General and Asaba leader Azimbek Beknazarov as a presidential candidate. Beknazarov, who is also a member of parliament, could not be reached for comment. The Asaba party leader said following the March political crisis in Kyrgyzstan, that he would support interim President and Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev as a candidate in the presidential elections.KAZAKH OPPOSITION MEMBERS ATTACKED
By empty (5/3/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A group of unidentified young men attacked leaders and members of the Kazakh opposition bloc For a Just Kazakhstan in Chimkent, the administrative center in southern Kazakhstan, bloc members said at a press conference in Almaty on Tuesday. Bloc activists Altynbek Sarsenbayuly, Bolat Abilov, Serikbolsyb Abildin and Amirzhan Kosanov said the incident occurred when the bloc was preparing for a regional conference on Monday. (Interfax).AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT RATIFIES OIL CONTRACTS WITH SOME DISSENTING VOICES
By empty (5/4/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Azerbaijan\'s parliament on 29 April ratified three oil contracts worth almost $1 billion that were signed last year to develop three on-shore oil fields. Azerbaijan\'s state oil company SOCAR has a stake in all three contracts. Its partners are Caspian Energy group (U.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.