Editor: Eugene Imas

Country News Digest Vol.4, Issue #2

01/20/14-01/24/14

Contributors: -Risa Chubinsky -Glyn Cozart -Joseph Gates -Thomas Hyde -Katharine Quinn-Judge

On Thursday Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov agreed to meet with his Armenian counterpart to discuss the crisis over Nagorno-Karabakh. The talks follow a week of border skirmishes that have resulted in the death of one Azerbaijani soldier and accusations from Baku that Armenia has violated a ceasefire agreement.

Azerbaijan

Country News Digest

Russia

Bloomberg

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RFE/RL

In a rare interview with The New Yorker this week, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden adamantly stated that he was not an undercover Russian spy. US legislators have vowed to investigate whether Snowden cooperated with Russian intelligence services while working as an NSA contractor. Snowden called their suspicions absurd, saying he acted with no assistance from anyone, let alone a government. Articles: New York Times Moscow Times

At a press conference on Wednesday, Giorgi Margvelashvili, Georgias president, expressed concern over the 11 km expansion of Russias border zone into the territory of the breakaway republic of Abkhazia. Abkhaz officials say the expanded border zone, which will be in force until March 21 and will consist of a series of checkpoints, will help strengthen regional security ahead of the Sochi games. Margvelashvili says the expansion is motivated by politics, not security.

Georgia

Apsny Press

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Protests in Kiev have turned violent, with three protesters now pronounced dead - two from police shootings, one from falling near the protest site. Over the last week, clashes between protesters and police officers have escalated significantly as oppositionists respond to a series of restrictive laws passed last week aimed at curbing the mass protests. Members of the opposition say these laws restrict free speech and the right to demonstrate.

Ukraine

Rustavi 2

CNN

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Time

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian stated in a press conference this week that border conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan will hinder peaceful negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Moreover, Nalbandian claimed that the Azerbaijani government obstructs progress by either disregarding international statements and principles governing the regulation of the conflict, or misleading the public as to their content.

Armenia

Armradio

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controversial re-election that year.

X index

President Lukashenka said at a press conference on Wednesday that he would consider amnesty for imprisoned activist Ales Bialitskiy. Bialitsky, who chairs the Belarusian human rights center Viasna, has been in jail since 2011, when he was charged with tax evasion. Human rights defenders connect his imprisonment to Lukashenkas 2011 anti-opposition crackdown, which followed mass protests during his

Belarus

Armenpress

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EuroBelarus

Prime Minister Erdogans struggle to manage the corruption scandal became worse this week as the value of the lira dropped to 2.33 to the dollar. This is twice the number of lira to buy dollars than the currencys peak six years ago. The central bank has been unable to convince investors that it could balance the countrys forex reserves without interest rate hikes, a policy Erdogan opposes.

Turkey

Reuters

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Bloomberg

A court in Moldova has ruled that a referendum scheduled by the authorities of the autonomous republic of Gaguazia for February 2 is illegal. The referendum lays out the right of Gagauzias 150,000 people to secede from Moldova should the latter choose to join Romania. It also asks whether residents would rather join the EU or the Russia-led Customs Union. Analysts say the proposed referendum is a consequence of the political and social marginalization of the ethnically Turkic Gagauz people. Articles: [Link] ipn

Moldova

Officials have announced that Kyrgyz troops have killed 11 members of a criminal group near the Chinese border. The group killed the head of the areas hunting department, and was destroying buildings in the Issykul region. Kyrgyz troops killed them after they opened fire on the troops. Their identities are still unknown, but officials suspect they were ethnic Uighurs connected to the drug trade. Articles: BBC Star

Kyrgyzstan

Country News Digest

Noor Ahmad Noori, a former Afghan translator for the New York Times, was beaten and stabbed to death outside of Lashkar Gah on Thursday. Noori, a well-known local reporter and translator, was abducted and missing for nine hours before he was found. No one has claimed responsibility for the killing, and it is not clear if his death was connected to the Taliban insurgency or if it was a more personal attack. Articles: World Bulletin New York Times

Afghanistan

The defence ministers of Kazakhstan and Israel signed a military cooperation agreement in Tel-Aviv on Monday. Under the pact, Israeli military personnel will conduct joint drills in Kazakhstans polygons, as well as providing technical expertise. A press release from Kazakhstans Ministry of Defense said the agreement is part of a continuing push to professionalize the military. Observers say the purchase of Israeli equipment may be on the horizon.

Kazakhstan

EurasiaNet

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This week Iranian President Hassan Rouhani became this first Iranian president in ten years to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In a speech in Davos on Thursday, Rouhani reiterated Irans commitment to negotiating a deal with the West on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, which Rouhani believes will make Iran one of the worlds top 10 economies in the next 20 years.

Iran

Turkish Weekly

CBS

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Reuters

Umon Tadjiev, a member of Tajikistans opposition Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP), has died in police custody in Tajikistans second city of Khudjand. His relatives say he may have died as a result of being tortured. The IRP had planned to hold a press conference at their Khudjand headquarters on Thursday to discuss Tadjievs death. However, their office was sealed off that same day by authorities, who claimed the space violated sanitation and fire safety norms.

Tajikistan

The Turkmen government is ending its policy of supplying free gas to Turkmen citizens. On January 17 Turkmen President Gerbanguly Berdymukhamedov announced that the government will begin the installment of gas meters in private residences to replace its completely-subsidized gas policy, which cost the government an estimated $5 billion per year. EurasiaNet

Turkmenistan

Asia Plus

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RFE/RL

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Washington Post

At least two snow leopards were photographed in Uzbekistan for the first time, the first photographic evidence that the leopards resided in this country. Uzbekistan is on the far western edge of their known habitat. The camera trap study was organized in the Kizilsu area of Gissar Nature Reserve, on the border of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The footage also confirmed the presence of lynx, bear, and ibex.

Uzbekistan

Mongolia recorded an overall drop in exports in 2013, a report issued this week confirms. Despite massive exports of copper from the newly opened Oyu Tolgoi mine, Mongolia suffered a net loss of exports due to an 11.5% drop in coal exports to China. China accounted for 87% of Mongolias 2013 exports by value, the reports data showed.

Mongolia

RFE/RL

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Live Science

Bloomberg

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Reuters

Juhan Parts, Estonias transport minister, has come under fire for saying in an interview over the Rail Baltica project that there are fools in the Lithuanian government. The comment was made during a heated debate among officials in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania over which cities should be linked by the rail project. Parts has sinced apologized to Lithuania for his remarks. Wall Street Journal Articles: Baltic Times

Country News Digest

Estonia

The crime rate in the Czech Republic has increased by 7% in the past year. Deputy Police President Vaclav Kucera told reporters that the increase was caused, in part, by amnesty that former President Klaus announced in 2013, which applied to convicts with low sentences, the elderly, and others. Police saw a rise in property crimes and burglaries, as well as financial and drug crimes. Articles: Prague Monitor TK

Czech Republic

Authorities announced the results of a joint customs operation initiated by Lithuania and carried out in October 2013. 28 EU member states participated in operation Warehouse, which seized massive quantities of diesel fuel, cigarettes, and vodka that would have otherwise been smuggled into the region. Reports estimate that the operation prevented the loss of 9 million euros from EU customs income.

Lithuania

EU Business

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Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has vowed to reduce Slovakias unemployment level to that of the European Union average by 2016. His statement followed the release of official economic data for December 2013, which revealed a 13.5% unemployment rate in the country, compared to the EUs average of 12.5%. Fico stressed that the countrys labor ministry will continue to focus on raising wages in the public and private sectors.

Slovakia

Baltic Course

Shanghai Daily

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Slovak Spectator

A woman has risen to the position of the Prime Minister for the first time in Latvias history this week. Heading the center-right coalition Unity, Laimdota Straujuma has enjoyed a lengthy career in public service. Experts expect her to largely continue the policies of her predecessor, Valdis Dombrovskis, who resigned late last year after the collapse of a supermarket in Riga left dozens dead.

Latvia

Plans to construct a memorial commemorating the countrys occupation by Nazi Germany in 1944 resulted in widespread public debate in Hungary this week. Critics of the initiative characterize it as a rewriting of history, noting that the planned monument fails to mention that Hungary willingly collaborated with Germany before 1944.

Hungary

ABC News

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Reuters

BBC

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Reuters

On Thursday Dublin-based oil and gas exploration company San Leon Energy announced a successful shale test at the Lewino well in the Baltic Basin. The tests revealed a potential yield of up to 400,000 cubic feet per day, making the well one of the largest in Poland, which possesses the regions largest natural gas reserves.

Poland

On Thursday Romanian Interior Minister Radu Strohe resigned from his post amidst public criticisms of the incompetence of the states emergency services. The public outcry began after a small plane crash on Monday, where two passengers died after an apparent slow and inadequate rescue mission. Strohe is the fourth government official to resign or be fired as a result of the crash.

Romania

Bloomberg

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Reuters

Fox News

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Washington Post

Bulgaria and Turkey plan to sign an agreement about the deadlines and details of the construction of their gas grid interconnection in March. Bulgartransgaz, Bulgarian state-owned operator, will be in charge of the Bulgarian section of the gas grid. The project will be completed in two years. The deal will include construction of gas pipelines and potentially a nuclear power plant. Articles: Novinite Focus

Country News Digest

Croatia

Bulgaria

The Croatian Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Josip Perkovic, a former Yugoslav intelligence chief, can be extradited to Germany, where he will face trial for complicity in the 1983 murder of Croatian dissident Stjepan Djurekovic. Perkovic has denied the charges against him, saying his activities in Germany in the 1980s consisted of classic intelligence work. Articles: Croatian Times Dalje Montenegro has launched a tender to sell off shares of Kombinat Aluminijuma Podgorica (KAP), the partially state-owned and now bankrupt aluminum plant. KAP, still the largest industrial employer in the country, was declared bankrupt last October, prompting a dispute between the government and KAPs co-owner, Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Resolution of this dispute will be a key factor in determining Montenegros EU candidacy.

Prime Minister Edi Rama held a ceremony Tuesday in memory of four civilians killed at an anti-government protest held by his thenopposition Socialist party in January 2011. Rama called for the re-imprisonment of the officers charged with the killings, who were recently released from jail, and for a full overhaul of the justice system. During the ceremony, police broke up a left-wing rally whose participants accused Rama of betraying the protestors and his campaign pledges.

Albania

Montenegro

24 Ore

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Balkan Insight

MENAFN

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[Link]

On Tuesday Serbia began formal EU membership talks in Brussels with an EU delegation led by Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos. Serbias EU accession is expected to take at least six years, though Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic has set 2018 as Serbias target date for EU membership.

Serbia

On Thursday, the Yugoslav war crimes court shortened the sentences for three Serbian officials for atrocities committed in Kosovo, but upheld elements of another courts finding that these leaders committed crimes against humanity in Kosovo in 1999. Their convictions were partly overturned because the appeals chamber believed there was not enough evidence to show that the victims were not killed in battle.

Kosovo

BBC

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Bloomberg

Washington Times

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Global Post

This week Freedom House released its Freedom in the World 2014 report, ranking Macedonia at a 3 on a 1-7 sale (partially free). Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are the only regional Balkan countries to rank below free in the report, according to the Focus Information Agency.

Macedonia

Freedom House

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Focus News

Slovenia has rejected a ruling made by a Croatian court that requires the successor to the defunct Ljubljanska Banka, Nova Ljubljanska Banka, to repay approximately $36.7 million to Croatia due to deposits made by Croatian citizens before the collapse of Yugoslavia. Slovenian Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec says the ruling has no force in Slovenia, and that it runs counter to a deal on bank savings that cleared the way for Croatias EU accession. Articles: Global Post MINA

Slovenia

Country News Digest

Last week, a library housing Bosnia & rare and ancient texts from Herzegovina across the Islamic world opened in Sarajevo. Funded by a $9 million grant from Qatar, the newly opened Gazi Husrev Bey Library, named after a similar library destroyed by war in the early 1990s, has also taken in books that were displaced after the Bosnian National Library was razed in 1992.

ABC

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Reuters India

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