Field Reports
Armenia Faces Tough Decision over Association Agreement
by Haroutiun Khachatrian (the 08/21/13 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A peculiar situation has occurred in Armenia as the opposition and many non-politicians speak about external threats that the country may face in the near future. The issue under discussion is the EU’s Eastern Partnership program. Armenia is a participant in that program and talks with EU representatives on an Association Agreement were successfully concluded on July 24. This means that Armenia can initial its Association Agreement at the Eastern Partnership Vilnius summit in November. Along with Armenia, Georgia and Moldova can also initial their agreements, while Ukraine expects to sign its agreement at Vilnius. Belarus and Azerbaijan were not involved in talks at this stage.
Girl Travel Ban Passed in Kyrgyzstan
by Aigul Kasymova (the 08/21/13 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On June 12, 2013, the Kyrgyz Parliament passed legislation restricting girls under the age of 22 from travelling abroad. In total, 59 MPs voted in favor of the legislation and 2 against it. Social Democratic Party MP Yrgal Kadyralieva was the initiator of the legislation. According to Kadyralieva, the legislation is designed to protect young Kyrgyz girls from becoming prostitutes and working in brothels abroad, a problem that has increased in recent years. The regulation restricting free movement of girls under the age of 22 resulted in a widespread public disapproval in the capital of Bishkek despite Kadyralieva’s intensions, as stated in various public appearances, to protect the so-called moral welfare of the Kyrgyz nation.
Turkmenistan and Afghanistan Sign Agreement Over TAPI Gas Pipeline
by Tavus Rejepova (the 08/07/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On July 9, the Chairman of Turkmenistan’s State company Turkmengaz and the Chairman of Afghanistan’s Gas Corporation signed a gas sale-purchase agreement (GSPA) on the sidelines of the 17th meeting of the Steering Committee over the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project in Ashgabat.
Bishkek Court Rules to Release Three Opposition Lawmakers
by Arslan Sabyrbekov (the 08/07/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On June 17, 2013, the second level court in Bishkek acquitted and released Kamchybek Tashiev, Sadyr Japarov and Talant Mamytov, three opposition lawmakers previously convicted of attempting to stage a coup d’état in the country.
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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.