BERDYMUKHAMMEDOV BURNISHES MUSLIM CREDENTIALS ON VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA
By Christopher Boucek (4/19/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On April 16th, recently elected Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov concluded a four-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his first trip abroad as head of state. It is noteworthy—albeit not entirely surprising—that Berdymukhammedov’s first foreign destination was Saudi Arabia, and not Moscow or Beijing. The trip was focused on two objectives: bolstering the president’s Muslim credentials and expanding bilateral cooperation and investment in the Turkmen energy sector.
ARMENIA GEARS UP FOR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
By Grigor Hakobyan (4/19/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia on May 12, 2007. The opposition parties have yet again found themselves unable to unite around common candidates or develop effective campaign platforms to rally people around themselves. They fail to pose a substantial challenge to the ruling coalition government.
KYRGYZSTAN’S CRIPPLED CONSTITUIONAL COURT
By Joldosh Osmonov and Nurshat Ababakirov (4/19/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Given the vibrant opposition’s fervor to limit the President’s power through constitutional reforms, and the President’s stubborn determination to oppose that, the Kyrgyz Constitution appears a victim of the belligerent sides. Both opposition and pro-government parliamentarians ignored the voice of the Constitutional Court, which was to give a permission to consider the amendments, in November and December 2006. As an institution that should be at the center of the constitutional discussions, it remains highly constrained by the interests of some politicians and being used as a tool to delay constitutional reforms.
RUSSIA AND CHINA UNITE FORCES IN “PEACE MISSION – 2007â€
By Erica Marat (4/5/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
This summer the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will conduct joint military exercises called “Peace Mission–2007â€. The Russian-led Collective Security Treaty (CSTO) will closely observe the drills. For the first time, the two organizations will act as partners rather than representing overlapping multilateral structures seeking to fight terrorism, extremism, and separatism in Eurasia.
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Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.