News Digest
THREE TROOPS KILLED IN SKIRMISH WITH MILITANTS IN CHECHNYA
By empty (3/4/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Three troops from Russia\'s Interior Forces were killed in an armed shootout with militants in Chechnya\'s Kurchaloi district on Friday, a source in local law enforcement told Interfax on Saturday. In the course of a reconnaissance operation in a wooded area near the community of Niki-Khita, the servicemen ran into an illegal armed unit numbering up to 20 people. Three servicemen were killed in the ensuing shootout.AGREEMENT ON RUSSIAN BASES IN GEORGIA TO BE SUBMITTED TO PUTIN
By empty (3/3/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Russian government will submit to President Vladimir Putin a draft agreement regulating the withdrawal of Russia\'s military bases from Georgian territory. The document envisions the withdrawal of the Russian bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki by the end of 2008, giving Russia until late 2006 to withdraw military hardware from the Akhalkalaki base. The Russian base in Akhalkalaki is to be closed down on December 31, 2007, at the latest.ARMENIA WILL RECOGNIZE KARABAKH IF TALKS HIT DEAD-END - KOCHARIAN
By empty (3/3/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Armenia will de jure recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh if negotiations with Azerbaijan on a settlement of their conflict over the predominantly ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan reach a deadlock, Armenian President Robert Kocharian told journalists on Thursday evening. \"Armenia should be prepared that the talks may reach an impasse, although chances to make progress still remain,\" he said. \"However, if Azerbaijan firmly states that time is working for Azerbaijan and tries to resolve the Karabakh issue by bolstering the army and using force, Armenia will take the following steps: first and foremost, it will de jure recognize the independence of the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh,\" the president said.KYRGYZ OPPOSITION FIGURE SAYS CHANGES MINIMAL IN PAST YEAR
By empty (3/2/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In a March 1 interview with the newspaper \"Delo No,\" former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbaeva said that little has changed in Kyrgyzstan since the ouster of President Askar Akaev on March 24, 2005. She said, \"I do not think the country has undergone drastic changes. There was crime when Akaev was in power, and crime has remained since [current President Kurmanbek] Bakiev came to power.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.