News Digest
RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS FOUND DEAD ON BORDER WITH GEORGIA
By empty (8/25/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Eight Russian border guards were found shot dead from close range on the border between Ingushetia and Georgia on 24 August. Two more members of the same patrol are missing. A spokesman for the North Caucasus regional office of the Federal Border Service told Interfax on 25 August it is not clear if the dead men were ambushed or murdered by their missing colleagues.US rebukes Russia over bombing
By empty (8/25/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The White House has issued a strongly worded statement condemning reported attacks by Russian aircraft on a remote region of Georgia which has further strained relations between the two ex-Soviet states. President George W Bush's spokesman said he was deeply concerned about the "credible" reports and regretted the loss of life and violation of Georgian sovereignty. Russia has denied that its air force mounted the attack and suggested it may have been part of a security operation by US-trained Georgian troops due to begin on Sunday.Azerbaijan claims 97% support in poll
By empty (8/25/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission says 97% of voters have approved a series of amendments to the country's constitution. The referendum was seen by critics as paving the way for the ageing president, Heydar Aliyev, to hand over power to his son. With most votes counted, the commission said 88% of the population had turned up at polling stations, greatly exceeding the number required to validate the referendum.GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER SAYS INTRUDING AIRCRAFT SHOULD BE SHOT DOWN
By empty (8/24/2002 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Speaking at an emergency parliament session on 24 August, Nino Burdjanadze described the 23 August bombing raid as "outrageous" and argued that Georgia should shoot down aircraft that violate its airspace. Defense Minister Lieutenant General David Tevzadze said on 23 August that Georgia does not have antiaircraft weapons capable of downing planes flying at 8,000 meters. But President Eduard Shevardnadze said the same day that Georgia does have the capability to down intruding aircraft but will not use it in order not to exacerbate Russian-Georgian tensions.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.