By empty (10/17/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

President Vladimir Putin on 16 October addressed a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Malaysia, saying that the millions of Muslims in Russia are \"a full-fledged, full-blooded, integral part of the Russian people.\" He called Muslims \"an asset\" and a part of Russia\'s \"wealth.\" Putin said that interconfessional and interethnic conflicts are among the main threats in the modern world.

By empty (10/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

European Union Director for Central Asia and the Caucasus Per Brix Knudsen told journalists in Dushanbe on 16 October that the EU will commit 12 million euros ($13.9 million) over the next three years for Tajik land-mine removal along the Uzbek border. Two-thirds of that amount has already been promised by individual EU states, he added, and the union is looking for ways to secure the rest.

By empty (10/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry has issued a statement rejecting the results of an Uzbek investigation into an incident on 16 July in which a Kyrgyz citizen was killed by Uzbek border guards. The ministry statement said the Kyrgyz side is continuing to work with the Uzbek Foreign Ministry on the issue, but is \"deeply concerned\" that charges against the Uzbek border guards involved in the shooting were dropped and the Uzbek prosecutor-general has filed criminal cases against some Kyrgyz citizens who were allegedly involved the incident. The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry also said it found the Uzbek attitude counterproductive.