News Digest
KYRGYZ GOLD EXPORTS, GDP RISE
By empty (8/9/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Kyrgyzstan\'s gold exports increased 38.8 percent in the first half of 2004 against a backdrop of rising world prices for the precious metal. According to the country\'s National Bank, the main buyers of Kyrgyz gold in the first half of 2004 were the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland.GEORGIA WELCOMES INCREASED OSCE PRESENCE IN SOUTH OSSETIA
By empty (8/6/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili issued a statement on 6 August welcoming the recent decision of the OSCE Permanent Council to increase the number of military observers deployed along the border region between South Ossetia and Georgia proper. Although the increased deployment is marginal, with only two additional observers added to the four-person OSCE force, the move is seen as an attempt by the OSCE to demonstrate its commitment to stabilizing the situation in South Ossetia. The OSCE Permanent Council is also expected to dispatch a small delegation to Tbilisi in the coming days.ABKHAZ AUTHORITIES DENOUNCE SAAKASHVILI\'S DECLARATION
By empty (8/6/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The prime minister of the self- proclaimed republic of Abkhazia, Raul Khajimba, said that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has no right to declare Abkhazia a military conflict zone. \"Saakashvili has no right to declare Abkhazia a military conflict zone. Moreover, there are no grounds for it,\" Khajimba told local media outlets in response to statements made by Saakashvili during his visit to the United States.IRANIAN PRESIDENT ON BAKU VISIT
By empty (8/5/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Iran\'s President Mohammad Khatami has arrived in Azerbaijan\'s capital, Baku, for a two-day visit. He is meeting his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, and signing a raft of bilateral agreements bolstering economic, educational and cultural co-operation between the two states. This is President Khatami\'s first ever visit to Azerbaijan, Iran\'s crucial strategic neighbour.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.