By empty (3/9/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 8 that Moscow remains opposed to sanctions against Iran following the decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to forward its report on Iran\'s nuclear program to the Security Council, news agencies reported. He argued that the international community \"should act in a way that would not risk losing the IAEA capacity and possibility to continue to work in Iran, [and] to continue to clarify those questions which relate to the past Iranian nuclear program. It is very important for the international community and for the [nuclear] nonproliferation regime to get answers to these questions.

By empty (3/9/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Ex-Foreign Minister Roza Otunbaeva told RFE/RL\'s Kyrgyz Service on March 8 that the current government, which came to power after the ouster of President Askar Akaev, \"has not been able to get anything done.\" Otunbaeva, who played an important role in the protests that finally toppled Akaev on March 24, 2005, set the upcoming anniversary as a time for taking stock. \"If [the Kyrgyz government] doesn\'t do anything [by March 24], then we will appeal to the people: \'We\'re sorry this is the way things are.

By empty (3/9/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Islam Karimov has signed a law enabling Uzbekistan to join the Eurasian Economic Community. Uzbekistan began the entry process last year and the lower and upper houses of parliament ratified the protocol on entry in February. The Eurasian Economic Community\'s primary objectives are to coordinate efforts to gain admission to the World Trade Organization, to harmonize customs tariffs, and to develop common border regulations.