By Haroutiun Khachatrian (8/19/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The U.S., Russia and France, the three mediators of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process, have presented an amended version of the Madrid document, based on Armenian and Azerbaijani proposals.

By Rafis Abazov (7/15/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On June 12 2009, the President of Turkmenistan signed a decree establishing the National Academy of Science (NAS) of Turkmenistan, fully funded by the state budget. This refocusing of priorities toward re-establishing a national Research and Development (R&D) system has made a significant contribution to the systematic reorganization of the country’s research and education. This move has also intensified the debates within Turkmenistan and in the Central Asian region about the future directions in adopting new approaches to research and science: should the government support and fund the establishment of its own innovative research and development potentials or should the state abandon attempts to build its own research base and fully rely on the private sector or an international transfer of know-how?

BACKGROUND: Turkmenistan’s policy-makers follow in the footsteps of their colleagues in developing countries, where debates about the viability of creating an independent R&D base have continued for more than half a century.

By Tamerlan Vahabov (7/15/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On June 14, member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization signed a document on the establishment of CSTO Rapid Reaction Forces. Due to its economic and military potential, Russia will provide the main and virtually the only viable component of these forces. This treaty is symbolic as it seals Russia’s political-military aspirations in the CSTO area.