News Digest
UZBEKISTAN FAILS US HUMAN RIGHTS TEST BUT WINS WAIVER FROM PENALTY
By empty (1/11/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The United States has determined that Uzbekistan\'s human rights record does not meet standards for participation in a US threat reduction program for former Soviet states but will not suspend the Central Asian nation, the State Department said. President George W. Bush waived the penalty for national security reasons, finding that the continued participation of Uzbekistan -- a key US ally in the war on terrorism -- was \"critical,\" said Lou Fintor, a department spokesman.RUSSIA EXTENDS LEASE OF SPACE-LAUNCH SITE
By empty (1/9/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russia on Friday extended its lease to use a space-launch site in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan through 2050, after agreeing to let this Central Asian nation play a role in future space projects. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev agreed to extend Russia\'s use of the Baikonur cosmodrome, Russia\'s sole launch facility for manned space missions. Financial details were not released.PAID MEDICAL SERVICE INTRODUCED IN TURKMENISTAN
By empty (1/8/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has issued a decree introducing paid medical services in Turkmenistan. The objective of the measure is to reduce state health-care expenditures. In 2001, Niyazov cut the number of state-employed health-care workers by several thousand for the same purpose.KAZAKHSTAN DETAINS AZERBAIJANI FISHING VESSEL FOR ALLEGEDLY POACHING STURGEON
By empty (1/8/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Officers of Kazakhstan\'s Border Service detained an Azerbaijani fishing vessel on 31 December for poaching sturgeon, according to a Border Service press release. The vessel, registered in Baku, was reportedly found to be carrying 2 tons of sturgeon and 3 kilograms of black caviar. The boat was escorted to the Kazakh port of Bautino, where its special tackle for catching sturgeon was confiscated.Visit also
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.