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Country News Digest Y Y Y Vol.3, Issue #2

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Editor: Eugene Imas

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

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09/09/13-09/13/13

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A US delegation scheduled to arrive in Baku September 9 cancelled their visit at the Aliyev regimes request. The delegation had planned to observe preparations for October 9 presidential elections. Meanwhile, a CIS monitoring mission is reported to have announced this week that preparations for the election are thus far in accordance with established norms.

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Azerbaijan

Country News Digest

Russia

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On September 9 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov submitted a plan for disarmament of chemical weapons to the Syrian government, who accepted the proposal the following day. Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry began talks on the Russian plan in Geneva on September 12. New York Times

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RFE/RL

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1news.az

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Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili climbed 5,047 meters (16,558 feet) to the top of Mount Kazbek in the Caucasus Mountains. His climbing group included Russias Andrei Illarionov and Georgian opposition figure Gogi Khachidze. Despite bad weather, the group eventually reached the summit of the mountain, where they planted a Georgian flag.

Georgia

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Yahoo

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The EU is rejecting Russian pressure to deter Ukraine and other former Soviet republics from deepening trade ties with Europe. European Commission President Barroso said the EU would not turn its back on Eastern Europe. Ukrainian officials plan to strengthen ties with the EU and will continue seeking a trade deal. The EU continues to assert that democratic progress is critical to success of Ukraines trade agreement.

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RIA Novosti

Reuters

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EurActiv

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Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan stated Tuesday that Armenia wishes to gain observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Sargsyans Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang is anticipated to address the issue of observer status for Yerevan at the SCO summit in Bishkek.

Armenia

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World Bulletin

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and President Lukashenka met Wednesday. Sechin wants Rosneft to be Belaruss sole supplier of oil, and has promised to satisfy in full all of the countrys oil needs. Sechin also offered to be an informal supervisor of the two countries economic relations and said that Russia will not cut down on oil deliveries as sharply as originally planned.

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Charter97

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A 22-year-old man, Ahmet Atakan, was killed earlier this week during an antigovernment protest in the city of Antakya, located in southern Turkey. The exact cause of his death is currently disputed by authorities and witnesses, thereby heightening unrest and sparking additional demonstrations across the country.

Turkey

CNN

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Washington Post

Russias top health official, Gennady Onishenko, announced an embargo on Moldovan wines on Tuesday, citing poor quality control. Moldovas Economy Minister called the ban politically motivated, while Prime Minister Iurie Leanca suggested it contradicted WTO obligations. Russia accounted for over 21% of Moldovas total exports last year, according to the CIA factbook.

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The SCO summit took place in Bishkek Friday with heads of state from China and the five Central Asian countries of the former USSR. Iran, India, and Afghanistan were present as observers. This followed the signing of a $3 billion set of economic deals between China and Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, as well as stiff negotiations to increase Kyrgyzstani shares in the part-Canadian Kumtor mine. Articles: Eurasianet Azattyk

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Pakistan has announced a plan to release a high ranking member of the Taliban from prison in order to aid the precarious peace process in Afghanistan. Experts diverge on their assessments of Pakistans action, with some accepting it as an act of good will towards Afghanistan and others criticizing it as an attempt by Pakistani security forces to gain influence in the country. Articles: New York Times RFE/RL

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After attending the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Chinese president Xi Jinping stopped in Astana to sign $30 billion worth of energy deals ahead of the SCO summit in Bishkek on Friday. The deals foresee Chinas acquisition of shares in Kazakhstans giant offshore oil facility Kashagan, which began production on Wednesday.

Kazakhstan

In recent weeks Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and US President Barack Obama have exchanged private letters regarding events in Syria. Both governments have suggested face-to-face meetings regarding Irans nuclear program at the UN General Assembly on September 24. These would be the first face-to-face meetings between the two nations in 34 years.

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Kazakhstan News

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RFE/RL

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Jerusalem Post

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On Tuesday the Union of Reformist Forces of Tajikistan (URFT) nominated its candidate for president in Novembers elections. Oynihol Bobonazarova, a former lawyer and human rights activitst, will need the signatures of five percent of Tajik voters to successfully register her candidacy for president. URFT, a coalition of various opposition parties, agreed several months ago to put forth a single candidate to challenge President Rahmon.

Tajikistan

After deepening energy ties with China last week, Turkmenistan spent this week conducting energy talks with another Pacific power: Japan. The Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation, signed by the respective heads of state of Turkmenistan and Japan, pledges to strengthen the relationship between the two countries in the years to come. Global Post

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Chinas Xi Jinping met with Islam Karimov in Tashkent on Monday, where the two signed a series of agreements worth $15 billion. The deals largely involve Chinese use of Uzbekistans oil, gas, and uranium reserves. Karimov praised the two countries economic ties, noting that China had never imposed political conditions on aid or investment. Xi announced that the volume of two-way trade should nearly double to $5 billion by 2017. Articles: SCMP Eurasianet

Uzbekistan

After adding three Mongolian businessmen to its board, Rio Tinto approved the promotion of Craig Kinnel to the position of president and chief executive. The appointment is intended to help resolve the dispute between the Mongolian government and Rio Tinto on how to fund a vital expansion to the Oyu Tolgoi mine.

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Mining

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President Plevneliev of Bulgaria visited Estonia to discuss EU politics and further economic collaboration. His visit included discussing the Eastern Partnership, Balkan security, and Estonian support for Bulgarias bid to join the Schengen zone and the OECD. Estonia and Bulgaria will copreside over the EU presidency in 2018.

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This week in a joint CzechSlovak anti-corruption probe, Czech authorities detained 12 yet-unnamed soccer players and summoned 20 others for questioning for match-fixing, bribery, and illegal betting on soccer games. The arrests are a result of an 11-month long investigation. Convicted players face a ban of up to five years. Euronews

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On September 5-6 NATO Secretary General Anders Rasmussen visited with the Lithuanian President Dalia Grubauskaite and other senior Lithuanian officials in Vilnius to discuss increased NATO-EU cooperation. These meetings were held in preparation for the meeting of the European Council on Security and Defense in December. Lithuania currently holds the Presidency of the European Council.

Lithuania

The Slovak government faces controversy over its decision to purchase a 49% stake in gas supplier SPP. While the state claims the purchase is to give the state control over gas prices, critics are concerned that documents about the purchase were prepared by the financial group in charge of selling the stake and question the deals motivation. The Economy Ministry claims these concerns stem from a misunderstanding.

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The president of the European Unions central bank lauded Latvia this week, citing it as an economic role model to the rest of the EU. In order to overcome its 2008 recession, Latvia embraced austerity measures and is now the fastest growing country in the region. The economic praise comes as Latvia awaits entry into the Eurozone at the beginning of 2014.

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Two people were arrested for graffiti related to the wedding of Prime Minister Viktor Orbns daughter to businessman Istvan Tiborcz. The graffiti, Royal Wedding 2013, was meant to comment on speculation that public funds were used to pay for event preparations.

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A four day series of labor union protests started by OPZZ, the largest Polish labor union, kicked off on Wednesday, opposing layoffs stemming from the weakened Polish economy, as well as last weeks revisions to the Polish pension system. The protests also highlight growing discontent with the countrys current leadership.

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Prime Minister Ponta urged lawmakers to reject plans to drop the Rosia Montana mine project after a week of protests. More than 8,000 protesters spoke out against this project because of the use of cyanide in gold mining and the potential consequences to the environment. The parliament could pass the bill as early as November, which would give the state a 25% stake in the mine.

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Prime Minister Oresharski was in China from September 8-12 to discuss Chinese/Bulgarian economic collaboration. Oresharski hopes Bulgarian food, industry and pharmaceutical exports to China will increase, and that Chinese business participants will continue to invest in infrastructural development in Bulgarian local businesses.

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Country News Digest

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Bulgaria

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Croatia will receive over 275,000 euros in EU aid to help recover from severe flooding in 2012. This aid is part of a larger 14.6 million euro package to Croatia, Austria, and Slovenia, with Slovenia receiving the bulk of the funds.

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Novinite

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Global Times

Dalje

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The Albanian Parliament met Monday for the first time since the socialist partys victory in June elections. Prime Minister elect Edi Rama, who replaces conservative Sali Berisha, allegedly prompted the latter to storm out during a speech on Thursday in which he laid out priorities for his administration. Rama has cited tackling corruption and EU accession as key objectives.

Albania

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The European Parliament and the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Montenegro has not been in violation of the visa-free regime between Montenegro and the Schengen zone. The EU has launched an investigation into the high number of asylum seekers from the Balkans, but has determined that the government of Montenegro has fairly implemented the criteria for further visa liberalization with the EU.

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Vijesti

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As Serbia plans to begin talks to join the European Union, the country has decided to drop its opposition to an international calling code for Kosovo. The Serbian government has also urged Serbs living in Kosovo to vote in local November elections. These acts are part of Serbias ongoing attempt to smooth relations with Kosovo.

Serbia

After imposing steep restrictions on each others imports last week, Kosovo and Macedonia escalated their trade war this week. Skopje began charging Kosovan citizens and vehicles to enter Macedonia on Sunday. Prishtina responded with an announcement of a complete embargo on all Macedonian imports.

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Businessweek

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EurActive

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Macedonia and Greece continue their longstanding debate over the formers official name. UN mediator Matthew Nimetz visited both countries this week to continue talks, although no conclusion was reached. Greece objected to Nimetzs proposal of the name Upper Democracy of Macedonia, due to the fact that Upper did not appear immediately before the countrys name.

Macedonia

This week Slovenia liquidated Factor Banka and Probanka, two banks that comprise about 4.5% of the countrys banking sector. Although many feared a run on banks, analysts have encountered no evidence of one in the days following the liquidations. Slovenias decision to liquidate the banks comes as its banking sector faces an estimated $9.9 billion in bad loans.

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Balkan Insight

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Last week a mass grave was Bosnia & discovered by authorities Herzegovina in the northern town of Prijedor. While the remains of ten people have thus far been unearthed, Bosnias proescution office expects this discovery to be one of the largest mass graves in the northern part of the country and may contain the remains of dozens of Bosniaks and Croats from the Bosnian War of 1992-1995. ABC

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The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies is a U.S. Department of Education Title VI-funded National Resource Center (NRC) that strives to increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas

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2013 by Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies; School of Foreign Service; Georgetown University * CERES is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.

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Box 571031, ICC 111, Washington, DC 20057-1031 Email: ceres@georgetown.edu Tel.: (202) 687-6080 Fax: (202) 687-5829

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