News Digest
KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SAYS POLITICAL AND SOCIAL TENSIONS HAVE DECREASED
By empty (4/7/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Askar Akaev told journalists on 5 April that the constitutional reforms approved by a 2 February referendum have caused a reduction in political and social tensions. Akaev laid most of the blame for those tensions on the political elite, which he said is greedy for power. Akaev specifically mentioned that parliamentary deputies want more influence over the government and the judicial system.RELIEF RALLY FOR TURKISH MARKETS
By empty (4/7/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The Turkey\'s stock market bounced back on Monday on the news, and comments from Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would discuss considering releasing fresh funds for Turkey on 18 April added a further boost. Turkey\'s main stock index jumped 3.2% to 10,743 points while the lira moved to 1,649,000 against the US dollar, from Friday\'s close of 1,652,000.RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR\'S MOTORCADE CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE
By empty (4/7/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A Russian motorcade consisting of eight vehicles and carrying 23 diplomats and journalists, including Russian Ambassador to Iraq Vladimir Titarenko, came under fire on 6 April about 20 kilometers outside of Baghdad. The convoy was caught in crossfire between coalition forces and Iraqi troops as it was attempting to evacuate the Russian citizens to Syria. RTR correspondent Aleksandr Minakov, who was riding in the motorcade, reported that three diplomats were wounded, one of them seriously.AZERBAIJANI OPPOSITION PARTY DEMANDS EXILED CHAIRMAN\'S RETURN
By empty (4/5/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Thousands of people attended a rally in Baku on 5 April convened by the opposition Democratic Party of Azerbaijan (DPA). Participants demanded that the party\'s chairman, former parliament speaker Rasul Guliev, be allowed to return from Azerbaijan from the United States, where he has lived since the fall of 1996 when he left the country following a major disagreement with President Heidar Aliev. Demonstrators also demanded that the Azerbaijani authorities stop harassing Guliev\'s relatives, and that Aliev resign because, they claimed, he is no longer able to discharge his duties.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.