News Digest
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER BEGINS CENTRAL ASIA TOUR IN KAZAKHSTAN
By empty (3/16/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten arrived in Kazakhstan on 15 March at the start of a five-day trip during which he will also visit Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, Kazinform reported the same day. Patten\'s trip will focus on \"bilateral relations, the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, and the need to accelerate the process of political and economic reforms,\" according to a 12 March EU statement. Patten struck a note of cautious criticism in his initial remarks in Kazakhstan, warning political and business leaders that \"torture and other human rights violations, the restriction of fundamental freedoms.BOTH SIDES IN GEORGIAN STANDOFF ARM IN ANTICIPATION OF AGGRESSION
By empty (3/16/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Adjar Interior Minister Djemal Gogitidze told Interfax on 15 March that 3,000 Georgian troops backed by 12 tanks are poised to invade the autonomous republic, but that Adjar forces are capable of repelling any such aggression. Georgian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Nino Sturua told the same agency the same day that while some army units are on alert, none has been deployed to the border with Adjaria. Georgian State Security Minister Zurab Adeishvili claimed in Poti on 15 March that over the past three years Abashidze has created three special-forces units manned by former criminals with an estimated total strength of more than 1,000 men.RUSSIA\'S PUTIN SWEEPS TO VICTORY
By empty (3/15/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been swept back to power, after thrashing his rivals in Sunday\'s poll. With more than 99% of the ballots counted, Mr Putin had 71.2% support, while his nearest rival, Communist Party candidate Nikolai Kharitonov, had only 13.US \'KILL THREE\' IN AFGHAN BATTLE
By empty (3/15/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
US forces in Afghanistan say they have killed three militants and detained 13 in a raid on a cave in the southern province of Zabul. An American military spokesman said that dozens of US troops, including special forces, took part in the raid in Qalat on Saturday night. The spokesman said the operation was part of the latest offensive, codenamed Mountain Storm, against the Taleban.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.