News Digest
UZBEKISTAN FAILS US HUMAN RIGHTS TEST BUT WINS WAIVER FROM PENALTY
By empty (1/11/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The United States has determined that Uzbekistan\'s human rights record does not meet standards for participation in a US threat reduction program for former Soviet states but will not suspend the Central Asian nation, the State Department said. President George W. Bush waived the penalty for national security reasons, finding that the continued participation of Uzbekistan -- a key US ally in the war on terrorism -- was \"critical,\" said Lou Fintor, a department spokesman.RUSSIA EXTENDS LEASE OF SPACE-LAUNCH SITE
By empty (1/9/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russia on Friday extended its lease to use a space-launch site in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan through 2050, after agreeing to let this Central Asian nation play a role in future space projects. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev agreed to extend Russia\'s use of the Baikonur cosmodrome, Russia\'s sole launch facility for manned space missions. Financial details were not released.PAID MEDICAL SERVICE INTRODUCED IN TURKMENISTAN
By empty (1/8/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has issued a decree introducing paid medical services in Turkmenistan. The objective of the measure is to reduce state health-care expenditures. In 2001, Niyazov cut the number of state-employed health-care workers by several thousand for the same purpose.KAZAKHSTAN DETAINS AZERBAIJANI FISHING VESSEL FOR ALLEGEDLY POACHING STURGEON
By empty (1/8/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Officers of Kazakhstan\'s Border Service detained an Azerbaijani fishing vessel on 31 December for poaching sturgeon, according to a Border Service press release. The vessel, registered in Baku, was reportedly found to be carrying 2 tons of sturgeon and 3 kilograms of black caviar. The boat was escorted to the Kazakh port of Bautino, where its special tackle for catching sturgeon was confiscated.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.