News Digest
GEORGIAN PRESIDENT BLAMES RUSSIA FOR ELECTRICITY-PRICE RISE
By empty (4/26/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
President Mikheil Saakashvili criticized Russia on April 25 for \"creating problems\" by sparking a sharp rise in electricity prices due to the increased cost for Russian natural-gas supplies. Speaking at a meeting of the government\'s Energy Commission, President Saakashvili ordered the introduction of new subsidies to offset the increased price of electricity for the \"most vulnerable\" citizens. Although the expected increase in electricity tariffs is not yet known, Finance Minister Aleksi Aleksishvili estimated that about 10 million lari ($5.AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT BEGINS FIRST VISIT TO US
By empty (4/26/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Ilham Aliyev is beginning his first visit as Azerbaijan’s president to the US. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov told reporters on Tuesday that the agenda of Aliyev’s visit included energy security, the fight of terrorism, settlement of conflicts in the Caucasus and the situation around Iran. The Azerbaijani leader will meet on Wednesday the leaders of Congress.ARMENIAN TAX SERVICE RELEASES CORPORATE RANKINGS
By empty (4/26/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Armenian State Taxation Service released a report on April 25 ranking the country\'s top corporate taxpayers, RFE/RL\'s Armenian Service reported. The report revealed that thee foreign-owned firms head the list of the country\'s 300 leading corporate taxpayers -- the German-owned Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine, the Greek-owned ArmenTel telecommunications company, and the ArmRosGazprom natural-gas concern, controlled by Russia\'s Gazprom gas monopoly -- with a combined total payment of 12 billion drams ($27 million) in taxes and import duties in the first quarter of 2006 alone. Two Armenian-owned companies specializing in fuel imports are in fourth and fifth place, paying slightly less than 2 billion drams each.ACCORD ON BUILDING OF AFGHAN ROAD INKED
By empty (4/25/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Ministry of Public Works plans to construct a 155 kilometre road from Andkhoy to Almar district bordering Turkmenistan in the northern Faryab province, with an agreement signed on Monday with a South Korean company. Officials said work on levelling and pavement of the road will start shortly. Deputy Minister for Public Works Dr Wali Muhammad Rasuli said some parts of the road had already been paved by an Afghan company.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.