UNITED STATES AND CAUCASUS ASSOCIATION

FOR DEMOCRACY AND ECONOMIC STABILITY

P.G. 1

Selec ted N ew s Fro m Cau c as u s

- Voices From Free Nations -

November 17, 2011

Issue 5

Armenia
6-Oct. Former President Robert Kocharian has ofcially expressed an interest in reentering politics. In his statement, Kocharian openly criticized the current government for its failure to prevent economic decline. Since Kocharian retired from political life he has been working for Sistema, a Russian energy conglomerate in the region. 10-Oct. According to the director of the Radiation Problems Institute of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Adil Garibov, Azerbaijan agrees to give consent for the construction of a new nuclear reactor in Armenia. However, Armenia will have to inform Azerbaijan of all the details relating to the reactor's operation including the water source used, the purication process, and the implementation of safety measures. 15-Oct. Azerbaijani Interior Minister Major-General Ramil Usubov visited Armenia to attend the CIS interior ministers board meeting. The CIS meting was also attended by Ronald Noble, the American Secretary General of Interpol. Interior ministers have agreed to draft a document that will allow member states to combine forces to ght ciber crime. According to Alexei Moshkov, the representative from the Russian Interior Ministry, the main aim of this document is to make their efforts more practical. The draft was initiated by Belarus and ratied by the other council members. The next step in this process will be for the document to be sent to CIS leaders for approval.

Azerbaijan
27-Sept. In a speech to the UN General Assembly the Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elmar Mamedyorov, stated that conict resolution between Armenia and Azerbaijan must start with the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Nagorno Karabakh. According to Mamedyarov, this step-by-step approach, (which has been proposed by the mediators and supported by the majority of the inter national community exce pt that of Armenia) can bring durable peace, stability and predictability to the region. 1-Oct. Nabucco Gas Pipeline International ( G m b H ) s u b m i t t e d a c o m p r e h e n s i ve transportation proposal to the Shah Deniz 2 consortium. Managing Director at the GmbH, Reinhard Mitschek, said the consortium is condent that Nabucco offers the best export route for gas both from Azerbaijan and from other sources. According to Mitschek, the "Nabucco project is commercially viable and competitive. Political support and stability has been granted by a Treaty with duration of 50 years signed by all ve transit countries, as well as by bilateral project support agreements. 4-Oct. Azerbaijan has signed strategic cooperation agreements with three Russian republics - Karachay-Cherkess, Dagestan and Ingushetia. In Azerbaijani the agreements were signed by the First Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyyubov, while in Russian the agreements were signed by the leaders of the various Russian regions. The signing ceremony was held during Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin's ofcial visit to Azerbaijan. According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $1.73 billion in January-July, or 69.74% more compared to the same period last year. www.uscadp.org

Points for Consideration

David vs. Goliath 3rd round
Russia agreed to Georgias terms to establish check points for the international monitoring of trade along the borders of Abkhazia & S. Ossetia. In return Georgia agreed to lift its veto of Russias admission to the WTO. Doesnt this move from Russia mean that it recognizes Georgia's customs borders?

Is Azerbaijani preparing for war? Azerbaijani DM, Safar Abiyevs statement there appears to be no other way forward than the preparation of the Azerbaijan armed forces, shortly after Armenia demonstrated its tactical ballistic missiles, unmanned aircraft, and other modern weaponry system raises serious concern over peace in the Caucasus. Political temperature at Boiling Point in the Caspian Sea
While some nations continue to exploit the wealth of the Caspian Sea others are hopping that the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea will nally be dened. So far there have been no success toward that end, but concerns and tensions have risen to VERY high levels...

VOICES FROM FREE NATIONS

CAUCASUS NEWS LETTER

11-Oct. According to the Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Khalaf Khalafov, the Working Group on the Caspian Seas Legal Status will hold its next meeting inAstana, Kazakhstan. Though they are planning to hold the meeting in November, an exact date has not been scheduled. The main meeting will be held in Moscow during the summit of the Caspian littoral states. One of the main topics for discussion will be the legal status of the Caspian Sea. 22-Oct. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, received the Iranian defense minister, Ahmad Vahidi. Vahidi delivered to Aliyev both personal greetings and a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both sides stressed the importance of the development of successful bilateral relations and agreed reciprocal state visits would further help strengthen relations between the two countries. 25-Oct. Azerbaijan secured a seat on the UN Security Council in 2012-2013 after Slovenia withdrew from the race following 16 inconclusive rounds of vo t i n g. A ze r b a i j a n ' s v i c t o r y w a s conrmed when it received 155 votes in the 193-nation UN General Assembly, ensuring that it will join Pakistan, Morocco, Guatemala and Togo as temporary members of the 15-nation council in January. Western diplomats in New York are concerned that Azerbaijan might join other nations in resisting any renewed US and European Union push for UN sanctions against Iran or Syria next year. 13-Oct. The delegation led by Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz met with the Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel General Safar Abiyev. At the meeting the two ministers exchanged views on the prospect of military cooperation between their countries including the exportation of munitions produced by Azerbaijani enterprises to the global market. They also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh VOICES FROM FREE NATIONS conict and expressed their hope that a timely restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan would be achieved. According to DM Abiyev, despite continuous negotiations towards a peaceful settlement, no concrete results have occurred. Furthermore, DM Abiyev stated that there appears to be no other way forward than the preparation of the Azerbaijani armed forces.

NOVEMBER 2011

P.G. 2

Georgia
28-Sept. 250 graduates of the FBI National Academy from the U.S. and Europe visited Georgia to attend a 3 day FBI conference in Tbilisi. The delegation was headed by Joseph Demarest, the Assistant Director in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investig ation`s Inter national Operations. During their ofcial visit, FBI graduates became acquainted with recently conducted and ongoing reforms carried out by the law enforcement agencies of Georgia. They also got introduced to the internal processes of the staff within the Georgia police force. 30-Sept. Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili attended the EU Eastern Partnership summit in Warsaw, Poland. During his ofcial visit he met with the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and with the leaders of Sweden, Hungary, Belgium and Finland. Mikheil Saakasvili delivered a speech at the summit underlining the reforms carried out in Georgia. During his speech Mikheil Saakashvili also mentioned that EU membership is important for the continued development of Georgia. Leaders of the summit agreed that Georgia is a leading country in the reforms and must become a member of the EU. At the end of the summit leaders agreed to start a dialogue by the end on the year on achieving a free trade agreement with Georgia. 20-Oct. The Foreign relations committee of the European Parliament approved the draft resolution on Georgia. The Draft resolution evaluates the presence of Ru s s i a n t r o o p s i n G e o r g i a s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and S. Osetia as an occupation of sovereign territories. In addition, the resolution declares Russia in violation of the terms of the international www.uscadp.org

Russia
1-Oct. The Russian envoy to NATO, D m i t r y Ro g o z i n , c l a i m e d t h a t information regarding the Iran-Russian joint missile defense system was a media hoax. Earlier, this week, Mehr news agency quoted unofcial sources as saying that Iran, Russia, and China are currently holding talks on a proposal to establish a joint missile defense shield as a counterweight to a NATO defense shield. Rogozin further stated that "Our military ally is the CSTO. In regards to Iran, Rogozin stated that Iran is a traditional partner but not a military ally nation. 4-Oct. China and Russia vetoed a European Union supported resolution in which the UN would have called for the Syrian government to respect the human rights of pro-democracy protesters. Nine of the 15 UN Security Council members voted in favor, but the vetoes of two permanent members killed the resolution. The defeated resolution was introduced by Britain, Ger many, France and Portugal, the four EU members on the council. 12-Oct. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says Moscow and Beijing are close to resolving a long-running dispute about the price of Russian natural gas to be exported to China's energy-hungry economy. China is the world's top energy consumer, while Russia is the biggest energy producer. The two neighbors reached an initial deal on Russian gas deliveries in 2009, but have failed to agree on pricing, with Russia pushing for a

CAUCASUS NEWS LETTER

agreement and calls for Russia to fulll its obligations with regards to conict regions of Georgia. 28-Oct. President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, welcomed Vice President of Ukraine, Sergey Tigipko, and business representatives at the Presidents Palace in Tbilisi. The primary intention of the Ukrainian delegation was to get introduced to Georgian reforms, in particular the transforming of the bureaucratic apparatus and more effective use of public services. As VP Tigipko stressed ..it is important for me that you see and feel here in Georgia that carrying out reforms is possible... 25-Oct. The NATO Secretary General representative in S. Caucasus and Central Asia, James Appathurai, during his ofcial visit to Moscow, made a statement saying that ..no other nation outside of NATO can veto relations between the alliance and Georgia... Later, during his ofcial visit to Tbilisi on Oct. 27th, he met with the Georgian Prime Minister, the Vice Premier and members of the Security Council. At the end of his visit he held a press conference to assess the details of his visit and to reiterate NATOs continuous support of Georgias aspiration to become a full member. While talking about Georgias transition into NATO, he stressed the signicance of the continuity of democratic reforms. higher fee and China demanding a lower one. Putin also said Russian cooperation with China should be much broader than the gas industry and both nations should make hi-tech cooperation a priority in industries such as aircraft manufacturing, nanotechnology and biotechnology. 20-Oct. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has expressed his hopes that Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will sign a treaty forming a free trade zone in the CIS by late 2011. Speaking at a press conference following the meetings of the EurAsEC Interstate Council and the Supreme Body of the Customs Union, PM Putin showed condence that the existing economic integ ration will lead to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan joining the free trade zone treaty by the end of 2011.
St. Basil's Cathedral

NOVEMBER 2011

P.G. 3

economies have been booming. In addition, Turkey and Brazil have settled on a defense agreement to increase cooperation in science and health. 12-Oct. Reports by the International Investors Association (YASED) suggest that the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is ready to invest 12 billion USD in Turkey by the end of this year. The investment will most likely have a positive economic impact on Turkey and the rest of the Caucasus region. 14-Oct. Turkish Development Minister Cevdet Yilmaz announced that the four countries (Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan) had signed an economic cooperation deal a few days ago. The deal will focus on economic cooperation, transportation, and foreign investment. Turkish President Gul declared this a positive step in the relations of the countries involved. 19-Oct. Following the model used by Spain against the ETA (which ended a halfcentury of armed struggle for a separate Basque state), Turkeys Prime Minister Erdogan called for unity among the Turkish political parties in order to counter Turkeys Kurdish insurgent movement led by the Kurdistan Workers Partys (PKK). This was in response to the PKK led attack in Turkeys Eastern province, which killed 24 soldiers and injured another 18. Since June 2011 at least 150 people have been killed by the PKK. The increased violence has also included kidnapping, terrorist bombings, and instances of ethnic strife between the Turkish and Kurdish civilians.

Turkey
29-Sept. Turkeys Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Taner Yildiz, requested that the cost of natural gas being shipped from Russia along the Western Line Pipeline be lowered. The current contract between the two countries expires at the end of the year. 7-Oct. While most of the worlds economies are suffering due to the global economic crisis, Brazil and Turkeys

United States and Caucasus ASSOCIATION

Selected News from CAUCASUS Voices From Free Nations is designed by the Caucasus News Letter Project (CNL). CNLs intent is to provide unvarnished news about the Caucasus region to the world. USCA is an American independent, nonpartisan nonprofit 501 (c) (3) corporation, dedicated to promoting democracy and economic stability in the Caucasus region. All contributions are tax deductible. USCAs Analysts at CNL Project daily observe political and economic developments in Caucasus and other peripheries. SPECIAL THANK YOU Kutaisi University KU and its leadership Leila Kelbakiani, Rector of KU for
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