By empty (10/20/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Turkmenistan wants to raise the price of the natural gas it sells to Russia, Turkmen President Sapurmurat Niyazov told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Niyazov said he wanted to raise the price per thousand cubic meters to US$50 (euro42) as of 2006, and to US$60 (euro50) per 1,000 cubic meters thereafter.Russian gas monopoly Gazprom needs long-term supplies of Turkmen gas to ensure that it can meet rising domestic and export demand in future.

By empty (10/19/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The court trying 15 alleged Muslim extremists for starting an uprising in Uzbekistan has been shown a video of the alleged ringleader confessing. The presiding judge said the court wanted to call Akram Yuldashev to give evidence in person. But he has had tuberculosis for the past two years and cannot leave a prison hospital in Tashkent.

By empty (10/19/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli said he had decided to dismiss Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili after consultations with President Mikhail Saakashavili and parliament. “Georgia has a rather successful foreign policy. We owe it to the president, the government, the parliament, to our entire political team.