Field Reports
MISTRAL DEAL RAISES GEORGIAN SECURITY CONCERNS
By Eka Janashia (2/2/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Georgian government and some European officials view the recently signed Mistral deal between Russia and France as a potential threat to Georgia and to regional security.
Moscow crowned the lengthy negotiations on the procurement of the French warship Mistral by signing an intergovernmental agreement with Paris on January 25. Along with several Eastern European countries, Georgia considers the deal a threat to its national security and a security risk to the Black Sea region as a whole.
TAJIK ARMY ELIMINATES ARMED GANG
By Suhrob Majidov (1/19/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The special military operation that commenced in eastern Tajikistan on September 22 after an armed attack on a military convoy, which killed 28 servicemen, continued in early January. On January 4, representatives of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that eight members of Alovuddin Davlatov’s armed gang, including the leader himself, were killed. The special operation was considered a success, but at the same time raised questions about the way the bodies of the eliminated militants are treated.
AZERBAIJAN BOOSTS DEFENCE PRODUCTION
By Mina Muradova (1/19/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Azerbaijan has ambitious plans as a producer of defense and security equipment. While this will bring new income to the state budget, it also implies risks related to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh involving Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia.
On January 14, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that “… Azerbaijan’s defense budget in 2011 is 30 percent higher than the total [annual] budget of Armenia … we spend US$ three billion only for military expenses”.
KAZAKHSTAN PREPARES TO EXTEND NAZARBAYEV’S MANDATE UNTIL 2020
By Georgiy Voloshin (1/19/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A few weeks after the OSCE Summit in Astana had reiterated the commitment of Kazakhstan and other member states to democracy and the rule of law, a group of Kazakh citizens put forward an audacious proposal to extend President Nazarbayev’s current mandate until December 6, 2020 without holding presidential elections in 2012. The popular assembly organized in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk in eastern Kazakhstan consisted of 850 representatives from 14 regions as well as the cities of Astana and Almaty who unanimously voted for the commencement of an endorsement campaign. According to Kazakhstan’s constitution, a referendum may be organized upon the condition that at least 200,000 signatures are collected and submitted to the Central Election Commission for verification and approval.
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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.