4/06/15 4/10/15

On Tuesday, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, made

the pilgrimage to Mecca with his family. This is the first time
that the president of the secular but predominantly Shia Muslim
country has visited the Haram Mosque Kaaba, one of the most
important holy places in Islam. During his time in Saudi
Arabia, President Aliyev also met with Saudi King Salman Bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud to discuss cooperation between Azerbaijan
and Saudi Arabia.
EurasiaNet

Azer News

Elders in Georgias Pankisi Gorge have called on Tbilisi to aid

them in preventing Pankisi youth from joining the so-called
Islamic State (IS) militant group. The Pankisi Gorges Council
of Elders made the appeal on April 6, amid reports that two
more teenagers left Georgia to join the war in Syria. Relatives
of the 16-year-old Muslim Kushtanashvili and 18-year-old
Ramzan Bagakashvili say the two had sent word they were
now in Turkey. At least seven Georgians from the Pakisi
Gorge have died fighting for IS in Syria.
Georgia Today

RFE/RL

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrived in Moscow on

Tuesday night to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The officials stated the meeting revolved primarily around
economic measures, but Putin stated that Tsipras has not
requested any Russian financial assistance. European leaders
criticized Tsipras for cozying up to Putin to gain leverage and
Putin for pursuing a divide-and-conquer strategy to prevent the
EU from raising more sanctions. Putin has refuted these
allegations.
New York Times
Washington Post

On Thursday, Ukraines parliament voted to ban propaganda

of the totalitarian communist and Nazi regimes, in a move to
reject the countrys Soviet past. The bill passed 254-0. Under
the law, the Communist government in Ukraine from 1917 to
1991 is condemned as a criminal regime that conducted
policies of state terror, with its symbols officially banned. The
law requires the same treatment to the Nazi regime, which
controlled much of Ukraine during WWII.
RFE/RL

Wall Street Journal

In commemoration of the centennial of the Armenian genocide,

Armenian-American Kim Kardashian and her family made a
trip to Armenia to pay their respects. Kardashian arrived in
Yerevan on Wednesday with her husband, celebrity Kanye
West, and their daughter, as well as her sister, Khloe. Although
the United States has not officially recognized the genocide as
such, Kardashian has been actively entreating Americans
through her social media to recognize the 1.5 million who lost
their lives.
Guardian
RFE/RL

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Minsk from April

8-9 to discuss with President Alexander Lukashenko
continued opportunities for cooperation between China and
Belarus. Lukashenko expressed his desire to expand the
China-Belarus Industrial Park project and ensure Belaruss
inclusion in the Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt initiative to
link with Belarusian national development strategies. Wang
Yis trip was made in advance of Chinese President Xi
Jinpings upcoming visit to Belarus in May.

On Tuesday, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited

Irans president Hassan Rouhani in Tehran amid diplomatic
tensions after Erdogan accused Iran of trying to dominate the
region through its proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
Yet, Erdogans visit passed with images of smiles and
handshakes, as well as a joint news conference, where Erdogan
and Rouhani pledged to work together to solve regional crises.
The region is burning in a fire. We have to get united and
block the killing and bloodshed, Erdogan said.
US News and World
New York Times

On Thursday, Russian troops conducted military exercises in

Moldovas pro-Russian separatist region. Russian news
agencies quoted an army representative as saying that 400
troops and 30 pieces of weaponry were involved in drills in
Transnistria, a breakaway region situated between Moldova
and Ukraine. The separatist government of Transnistria has
long been supported by Russia both financially and
diplomatically.

Belta

The Moscow Times

Xinhua

Sputnik News

On Thursday, Kyrgyzstans prime minister announced that

the country was no longer interested in forming a joint
venture with Centerra Gold to develop the Kumtor gold mine.
The decision was spurred by a drop in the Kumtors mine
reserves. Prime Minister Joomart Otorbayev proposed instead
to increase the number of government representatives on
Centerras board of directors. Kyrgyzstan currently has three
representatives on the 11-member board. The mines output
accounts for over 7% of its gross domestic product.
Reuters

Times of Central Asia

An unusual ring of black smoke was spotted in the air over the
northern village of Shorthandy last Saturday. A local resident
took a video of the ring and posted the footage to YouTube,
which then prompted speculation that the ring was, among other
things, a UFO or a thermal microburst. The video now has
over 75,000 views. Russian scientists have speculated that the
ring, which dissipated after a few minutes, was caused by a large
combustion. A similar black smoke ring was seen over the
United Kingdom in 2014.
Weather Network
IB Times

Afghanistan saw a steady stream of violence over the past week,

indicating that the Taliban is intensifying attacks for the spring
and summer fighting season. On Friday, a suicide bomber
targeted a US military convoy near Jalalabad, killing four
Afghan civilians and wounding 10 others. Also on Friday, a
roadside bomb in Ghazni province killed 12 passengers in a
minivan. In Mazar-e-Sharif, gunmen in police uniforms
attacked the prosecutor generals office on Thursday, killing 10
and wounding dozens. On Wednesday, a gunman in Afghan
military uniform attacked US soldiers in Jalalabad, killing one.
Washington Post
New York Times

Preliminary nuclear negotiations concluded on Thursday, April

2, in Lausanne, Switzerland with the announcement of a
framework political deal that will allow negotiations to continue
until the June 30 deadline for a full agreement. The framework
involves a significant reduction of the Iranian nuclear program
in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Irans supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has expressed skepticism about the
tentative agreement, and President Hassan Rouhani has
emphasized further demands, including complete lifting of all
sanctions immediately after the implementation of a final deal.
The Guardian
Washington Post

Members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization

(CSTO) met in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on Thursday, April 9 to
discuss the threat facing the CSTO countries from ISIS groups
in Afghanistan. This meeting comes a week after the foreign
ministers of the member countries met on April 2 to discuss
ways to increase security along the Tajik-Afghan border. After
this meeting, Russian newspapers reported that Russia was
preparing to supply around $1.2 billion of military aid and
equipment to Tajikistan to assist in countering the threat from
the Islamic State.
Newsweek
RFE/RL

The website of the Turkmen embassy in Minsk, Belarus was

apparently hacked by individuals with ties to the Islamic State
on Thursday, April 9. The website was taken down on Thursday
and the embassy has yet to release a statement addressing the
apparent hacking. Turkmen government officials have recently
emphasized the threat facing Turkmenistan from ISIS and have
requested US support to address threats along its southern
border with Afghanistan.

President Islam Karimov has won another term in an election,

with 91% of the vote in what many described as a predictable
result for the ruler who has been in power since 1990.
Monitoring missions from the Commonwealth of Independent
States called the election open and democratic, while the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized
the election as a foregone conclusion because Uzbek citizens
lacked genuine political alternatives. Human rights groups
such as Human Rights Watch also criticized the election as
unconstitutional and unfair.
The Guardian
New York Times

On Sunday, Mongolian Prime Minister Saikhanbileg Chimed

announced that Mongolia reached an agreement in principle
with mining company Rio Tinto over phase two of the Oyu
Tolgoi copper and gold mine. The two parties were deadlocked
in negotiations for almost two years regarding plans to expand
Oyu Tolgoi and the smaller Tavan Tolgoi coking coal mine.
According to the arrangement, Mongolia will free up $8 billion
for expansions of the mines. Mongolia has been trying to revive
declining foreign investment in the country following disputes
with international companies like Rio Tinto.
Financial Times
Reuters

RFE/RL

The Diplomat

Estonias new three-party coalition has agreed on a series of

measures to cut the national income tax, raise the tax-free
threshold on wages and increase child support benefits after
weeks of negotiation ahead of forming a coalition. The centerRight Reform party renewed its partnership with leftist Social
Democrats and agreed with conservative IRL party to gain 59
seats in the 101 member parliament. The coalition remains proWestern in its commitment to the EU. Eurozone and the

NATO.
Ukraine Today

Reuters

Lithuanias media regulator suspended RTR Planeta for

inciting discord, warmongering, and spreading biased
information. The decision of the Radio and Television
Commission of Lithuania is to be implemented on Monday.
This is first time in the history of the European Union that a
regulatory body has made the decision to take a television
channel completely off-air.
Euro News

DW.de

A top Russian politician and head of the Dumas Foreign

Relations Committee, Alexei Pushkov, has called for sanctions
to be brought against Latvia after accusing its foreign minister
of comparing Russia to Nazi Germanys Third Reich. Pushkov
referred to the Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Renkevicss
words on Twitter: The more I follow modern Russia, the more
I come to [the] conclusion that she will end up like German
Reich after both [World War I and World War II] and it'll be
to[o] late.
The Moscow Times
Ukraine Today

Czech President Milos Zeman said on Sunday that U.S.

Ambassador Andrew Schapiro is henceforth banned from
paying him official visits amid a dispute over the Czech
leaders intentions to attend a WWII commemoration
ceremony in Moscow next month. Zeman announced that the
U.S. Ambassador is unwelcome at his office in the state
Prague Castle, saying I cannot imagine that the Czech
ambassador in Washington would advise the US president
where he should travel.
Telegraph UK

Fox News

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Slovakia on

April 4, his visit coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the
liberation of Bratislava during WWII. Lavrovs visit divided
Slovaks, with supporters and detractors present. Slovakia
belongs to the group of EU members which are torn between
maintaining economic ties with Russia and maintaining the
current EU policy line of sanctions.
Ukraine Today

Slovak Spectator

This week, Hungary and Greece joined Serbia, Macedonia, and

Turkey in the Russian-led Turkish Stream gas pipeline
project. A declaration on the project was signed by senior
officials from the five countries in Budapest on Tuesday. The
pipeline, which was designed to replace the cancelled South
Stream pipeline project, has been controversial in the EU,
where it is considered a blow to a unified European response in
regards to Russian aggression in Ukraine. The Turkish Stream
pipeline will bypass both Ukraine and Bulgaria as it transports
Russian gas to central and southeastern Europe.
Eubulletin
Budapest Business Journal

Authorities in the Romanian city of Timisoara seized a load of

Polands border police announced on Monday, April 6, that
furniture stuffed with over 150 lbs. of black cocaine that was
they will build six watchtowers along the 200-km border with
en route to Spain from Ecuador. The drugs had been chemically
the Russian enclave Kaliningrad. The watchtowers will be
altered to change their scent and color in order to avoid
between 35 and 50 meters in height and will be equipped with
detection by law enforcement officials and police dogs. (The
cameras to provide 24-hour surveillance of the border. The
drugs would have been chemically treated again at the final
project will cost more than $3.8 million, with 75% of the cost
destination to turn back to white powder.) Three men - a
covered by an EU fund for external borders.
Venezuelan, a Romanian, and a Colombian - were arrested in
of-cease-fire-deal?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=worldconnection the shipment, which has been valued at $4.3 million.
The Guardian

Newsweek

Deutsche Welle

news24

Bulgarian authorities are building a new 160-kilometer fence

along the Turkish border to stem the flow of refugees from the
Middle East and North Africa. The first section of the fence,
some 30 kilometers, was completed last September. The fence
is mostly a four-meter-high metal fence of chicken wire in a
steel frame, with razor wire facing Turkey. The Bulgarian
government is funding the fence through the EU and other
sources, eager to prove that it can control its southern border
amid regional instability.
New York Times

I24

On Tuesday, March 31, Albanias chief of police Artan Didi

resigned after it was revealed that the police had suppressed a
request from Belgium for the extradition of MP Mark Frroku
on charges of murder. "This oversight is unacceptable for the
prestige of the state police that I lead, so I resign because I
lacked the capacity to prevent it from happening," Didi said.
Police arrested Frroku on Thursday, April 2 after Parliament
overwhelming voted to approve the prosecutions request that
his parliamentary immunity be lifted.
Albeu

Reuters

Alleged Serbian war crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj set fire to

a Croatian flag last week in an act of protest, after which
he was ordered to return to his detention cell in The Hague.
After the incident, the Croatian Ambassador to Serbia Gordan
Markotic was recalled to Zagreb for consultations. Croatian
authorities lodged a formal protest to Serbia, yet said the
decision of Serbian authorities to file charges against Seselj
lessens the tension between the two countries.
In Serbia

B92

Russia has been awarded a 3-0 victory over Montenegro

following the match between the countries in a Euro 2016
qualifier in Podgorica last month. Two Russian players were
victims of violence from the crowd. One player was hit by
flare from the audience and another was hit by a missile,
prompting the referee to cancel the game.

BBC

The Guardian

This week, Russian news reported that Russia is considering

waiving a 30% import tax on Italian Fiat cars produced in
Serbia, as part of a wider effort to boost ties with its historical
ally in Europe. The request by Serbia to cut the tariffs will be
considered by the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union on
April 15. The move would go both ways, allowing Russia to
also deliver cars to Serbia without import tariffs. President
Vladimir Putin last year said that Russia was open to
removing the tariff to benefit both Serbia and Fiats home
country, Italy.
Moscow Times
ANSA

During a joint interview with Kosovos Foreign Minister and

Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci on April 7, Albanian
Prime Minister Edi Rama warned the European Union that if
Kosovo is denied EU membership, Albania and Kosovo will
unite in the classic way. Rama clarified that both Albania
and Kosovo preferred the alternative of unification through
membership in the EU. Thaci further explained that Ramas
statement did not represent a threat to the EU. Serbian Prime
Minister Aleksandar Vucic accused Albanian leaders of
provoking instability in the region.
Novinite
B92

During a press conference last Wednesday, April 1,

Macedonias leading opposition politician Zoran Zaev
accused the countrys intelligence chief of taking bribes from
Israel. Zaev said that Saso Mijalkov, head of the intelligence
service, received a large bribe from Israel in exchange for
arranging a deal for the purchase of surveillance equipment
from Israel in 2011. Zaev has accused the government under
Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of using this equipment to
conduct widespread illegal wiretapping of Macedonian
citizens.
ABC News
World Bulletin

On Thursday, the Slovenian Parliament voted 68-11 to

dismiss Defense Minister Janko Veber after an investigation
by a parliamentary commission revealed that he had ordered
the army secret service to examine the national security
implications of the privatization of state-owned Telekom.
Prime Minister Miro Cerar had earlier requested Vebers
resignation but Veber refused. Telekom is the largest of 15
firms that were earmarked for privatization in 2013, when
Slovenia faced a serious banking crisis.
Defense News

Reuters

On Friday, four Bosnians were charged with financing

terrorist activities and recruiting fighters for the so-called
Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq. The indictment, based on
a new Bosnian law designed to stem the flow of home-grown
fighters to the Middle East, accuses Husein Erdic of
organizing the departure of Nevad Husidic and Merim
Keserovic to join IS. Police estimate 200 Bosnians have left
for Syria over the past three years, 50 of whom have returned
to Bosnia.
RFE/RL
Reuters

The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies 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,
Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas.