Field Reports
BERDIMUHAMMEDOV ENTERS A NEW PHASE OF EU-TURKMENISTAN RELATIONS
By Chemen Durdiyeva (11/14/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On November 5, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov arrived in Belgium for his first official state visit to the EU headquarters in Brussels. In the framework of a three-day visit, the Turkmen leader met with the Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy, Benito Ferrero-Waldner; the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso; the Commissioner for trade, Peter Mandelson; Energy Commissioner Andres Piebalgs; EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, as well as EU Parliament Chief Gans Pettering and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. In addition to talks with EU officials, a wide delegation of Turkmen representatives headed by the president also met with Belgian officials on issues of energy and trade cooperation on a bilateral basis.
GEORGIAN POLITICAL UNREST GETS MIXED REACTION IN NEIGHBORING AZERBAIJAN
By Fariz Ismailzade (11/14/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Recent political unrest in Georgia and the subsequent decision by the Georgian President, Mikhail Saakashvili, to declare a State of Emergency and hold early Presidential elections set for January 5, received a very mixed reaction in neighboring Azerbaijan. While Azerbaijani politicians and public figures expressed sorrow over the turmoil in Georgia, some also showed irritation on how the West handled the situation in Georgia compared to similar events in Azerbaijan back in 2003.
Ilgar Mammadov, one of the most respected independent analysts in Baku, in his recent op-ed on the popular news site day.
SINO-UZBEK RELATIONS AND THE ENERGY POLITICS OF CENTRAL ASIA
By Erkin Ahmadov (11/14/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao made a tour through Central Asia and Russia starting November 2, 2007. Attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that took place in the capital of Uzbekistan on November 3 was a part of the tour. Visiting Uzbekistan on November, 3 Premier Jiabao met his counterpart Shavkat Mirziyaev and attended a ceremony to sign a number of documents directed at the improvement of bilateral cooperation between the two states.
TASHKENT REAL ESTATE BOOM NO LONGER IN LOCAL HANDS
By Benjamin Abner (10/31/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Real estate prices in Uzbekistan stagnated in September and October, yet they remain at an all-time high. Market analysts say the lull is likely to be temporary, however, and predict another spike towards the end of the year.
In the past two years, the CIS has witnessed a real estate boom, particularly in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
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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.