Editor: Eugene Imas

Country News Digest Vol.4, Issue #8

03/03/14-03/07/14

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

On Friday the chair of the Azerbaijani Parliaments Committee for Security and Defense Ziyafat Asgarov announced plans to amend the countrys current anti-terrorism laws. According to Asgarov, the new amendments would increase penalties for those involved in a range of terrorist activities, including the planning and financing of terrorist acts.

Azerbaijan

Country News Digest

Russia

On Tuesday, President Putin discussed Russian intervention in Crimea, maintaining that the unmarked troops occupying the peninsula were members of local self-defense groups rather than Russian troops. The Russian parliament voted unanimously to allow Russian military intervention in Crimea, which is populated by an ethnic Russian majority. Washington Post

RFE/RL

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APA

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NPR

the agreement was economically, not culturally binding.

EurasiaNet

On a Tuesday meeting in Tbilisi, EU Minister of Enlargement tefan Fle assured Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze that the EU would support Georgia should it come under pressure from neighbors while preparing to sign its anticipated Association Agreement. Fule also emphasized that the terms of the agreement and the Georgian elites opposition to gay marriage were mutually compatible, as

Georgia

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Tensions in Ukraine remain high, as Crimea declared on Thursday that it would hold a referendum on March 16 on whether or not to join Russia. Ukrainian officials have denounced the referendum, calling it illegal and unconstitutional. The referendum signifies a growing pro-Russia, pro-Ukraine split in the country, which western countries have begun trying to de-escalate through sanctions and freezing assets of former Ukrainian leaders.

Ukraine

Civil.ge

New York Times

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CNN

At the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting on Wednesday, Russian President Putin announced that Armenia has successfully adopted and implemented the necessary economic plan of action to begin treaty preparations for accession to the Eurasian Union. On March 11, Armenian, Russian, Belarusian, and Kazakhstani leaders will meet in Moscow to begin drafting the agreement.

Armenia

Armradio

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The last surviving Belarusian to have been awarded the Soviet title of Peoples Poet died March 2 at the age of 79. Ryhor Baradulin was the author of about 70 books of poems, his works have been translated into 40 languages, he translated writings by Shakespeare, Neruda, Khayyam, and others into Belarusian, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1996. Thousands showed up to commemorate him at his funeral in Minsk on Thursday.

Belarus

Panarmenian

Belsat TV

Articles: Democratic Belarus

On Monday, the Turkish Air Force scrambled eight F-16 fighter jets because a Russian surveillance plane flew parallel along the Black Sea coast. The Russian plane remained in international airspace, but heightened tensions because Ukraines Crimea peninsula juts into the north of the Black Sea while Turkey, a NATO member, forms the southern coastline.

Turkey

Reuters

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Kyiv Post

Having banned the import of Moldovan wine last September, Russias sanitary inspection agency said in a Wednesday press release that it would consider allowing wine imports from the autonomous regions of Transnistria and Gagauzia. International observers linked the September ban to Moldovas plans to sign an EU Association Agreement, and some have connected this weeks announcement to the autonomous republics vocal opposition to said agreement. Articles: Moldova.org Info Market

Moldova

Two Chinese metallurgical companies are completing deals to buy at least half a million tons of coal per year from Celsius Coal Ltd, an Australian firm operating in Kyrgyzstan. Baosteel, Chinas largest steel producer, will ship coal to Xinjiang province, near the border of Kyrgyzstan. These nonbinding memorandums of understanding should lead to production in two to three years. Articles: Reuters Steel Guru

Kyrgyzstan

Country News Digest

On Thursday, a NATO airstrike killed five Afghan soldiers and wounded eight, making it one of the worst incidents of friendly fire throughout the entire Afghan war. Officials explained that the attack in Logar Province was a result of poor coordinator between drone operators and personnel on the ground. The area is frequented by many insurgents, and drone strikes are relatively common. Articles: Washington Post New York Times

Afghanistan

Kazakhstans Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Wednesday for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Crimea, saying both sides should swear off the use of force. Speculating about the cautious nature of the statement, Kazakhstani analysts suggested Nazarbayevs status as an authoritarian leader hostile to protest on the one hand, and as the leader of a country with a predominantly Russian-speaking north on the other, necessitated a highly neutral stance.

Kazakhstan

Government delegations from Tehran and the six world powers concluded two-day long negotiations regarding Irans nuclear program on Friday at the United Nations complex in Vienna. At the end of negotiations an Iranian Foreign Ministry official stated the talks were substantive and useful, though more would be needed before reaching a final agreement.

Iran

Azattyq

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Tengri News

Global Post

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Reuters

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate Oynihol Bobonazarova was given the US State Departments annual Women of Courage award in Washington on Tuesday. Tajikistans opposition selected her to challenge Emomali Rakhmon in elections last November, but she failed to gain enough signatures to officially register her bid - due, she said, to official harassment. She is credited with using her brief candidacy to shed spotlight on human rights abuses.

Tajikistan

This week the Government of Turkmenistan reported a 10.3% growth rate in the countrys GDP in January-February 2014. Some of the highest rates of growth occurred in industry (8.9%), construction (15%), and transport and communication (14.8%) sectors of the economy. This growth reflects a slight increase from the 10.2% average GDP growth rate for 2013. AzerNews

Turkmenistan

Avesta

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Ozodi

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Trend.az

Uzbekistan is planning to ban imports of non-iodized salt by the end of the year to help combate diseases caused by iodine deficiencies that occur in the population. The country has been facing issues related to a lack of iodine since the fall of the Soviet Union. This import ban is part of the governments Year of the Healthy Child project and works in tandem with its May 2007 law on Protection Against IodineDeficiency Related Diseases. Articles: Turkish Weekly RIA Novosti

Uzbekistan

Things are looking up for those who wish to invest in Mongolia. A Mongolian mines minister suggested that the current moratorium on exploration licenses might be lifted during parliaments spring session. This news comes amid rumors that Rio Tinto is close to a deal with the government of Mongolia to begin work on the second expansion phase of the massive Oyu Tolgoi mine.

Mongolia

Reuters

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Sydney Morning Herald

Russian media has leaked a phone call supposedly between Estonian foreign minister Paet and EU foreign policy chief Ashton. In the call, a man identified as Paet recounts a conversation with a Ukrainian doctor, who claimed that snipers in Kyiv responsible for shooting at protesters were organized by opposition groups. The doctor mentioned in the phone call, Olga Bogomolets, has denied making this claim. Articles: Channel 4 itv

Country News Digest

Estonia

The French Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Czech Republic in its dispute with the Diag Human firm, which was demanding several billion crowns for a blood plasma deal with the Czech Health Ministry. Diag has been suing since the early 1990s, and was demanding more than the compensation awarded in an August 2008 arbitration case. Diag must now pay the court fees associated with the case. Articles: Prague Daily Monitor Prague Post

Czech Republic

Lithuania, who relies entirely on Russia for its natural gas supply, has urged fellow Baltic nations to cooperate in seeking ways to decrease energy dependence on Russia. The crisis in Ukraine has spurred Lithuanian lawmakers to accelerate initiatives to increase interconnectedness of pipelines within the Baltic region as well as to begin building ports that could receive liquefied natural gas shipments by sea.

Lithuania

Slovakias presidential race is reaching its final stages before the first round of elections. The incumbent, Robert Fico, faces 14 candidates in the first round. Political analysts in Slovakia believe that Fico is likely to face Andrej Kiska, a businessman with no prior political history, in the second round of the election. The candidates will take to the airwaves this week in a series of public debates.

Slovakia

Bloomberg

Articles: Business New Europe

European Voice

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Slovak Spectator

Latvia has taken a strong position against Russias involvement in the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine. The Saeima, Latvias parliament, passed a resolution condemning Russias military aggression, and the foreign ministry is preparing to issue travel bans and freeze assets of Ukrainian officials deemed to be complicit in human rights violations.

Latvia

The Deputy Governor of Hungarys central bank has blamed the recent drop in value of Hungarys currency, the forint, on international factors. In particular he blamed instability wrought by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Two weeks ago, the forint fell to its lowest value against the euro in the past two years. The forint was bid at roughly 310.80 against the euro on Tuesday.

Hungary

Reuters

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Baltic Course

Reuters

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Bloomberg

This week Polands Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced plans for increased military and defense cooperation with the United States in meetings in Warsaw and Brussels. The escalation, which Tusk stated is related to recent events in Ukraine crisis, will include joint Polish-US Air Force drills in the nearest future.

Poland

On March 4 Romanias new four-party coalition led by Social Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta received a vote of confidence in Parliament, securing government rule by receiving support from the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) party. The governments new cabinet members were sworn in on Wednesday by Romanian President Traian Baescu.

Romania

Polskie Radio

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Defense News

European Voice

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Romania Insider

Bulgarias Deputy Minister of Economy and Energy Branimir Botev has announced a new advertising campaign to encourage more German tourism year-round, instead of the summer seaside destination as it is currently known in Germany. Tourism contributed 16.5% to Bulgarias GDP in 2013. Botev hopes to increase the number of tourists from 7.2 million to 9.5 million by 2020. Articles: Novinite Focus News

Country News Digest

Croatia

Bulgaria

The government announced that it would cut its debt to GDP ratio from 5.5% to 4.5% within the year. The country plans to reduce the deficit through wide-ranging spending cuts and amendments to the labor code that facilitate the dismissal process for employees. The EU began disciplinary measures against Croatia in January, when it announced it had three years to bring its deficit under the EU ceiling of 3% of GDP. Articles: Reuters HRT On Wednesday, Azerbaijan and Montenegro signed a 500 million euro deal to convert an abandoned naval base on the Adriatic coast into a resort. Azerbaijans SOCAR oil company and developer Azmont Investments will head the renovation, which is anticipated to be completed in 2016. Montenegrin Prime Minister Djukanovic credited good bilateral relations with helping the deal get off the ground in times of global economic downturn.

During a visit to Albania on Thursday, EU minister Stefan Fule warned that the country would need to overcome political polarization in order to gain membership. Attempts at fighting organized crime and corruption have been stifled by deadlock between the conservative Democrats and the center-left Socialists since the latter took power last September. The country had hoped to achieve EU candidate status in December, but the Union deferred the decision.

Albania

Montenegro

Tirana Observer

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Balkan Insight

Reuters

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Trend.az

On Thursday Serbia secured an agreement for a $1 billion loan from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The loan, which is scheduled to be withdrawn in the second quarter of 2014, is the latest in a string of UAE investments in Serbia. Last year, UAE airline Etihad Airways purchased a 49% share of Serbias Jat Airways.

Serbia

On Tuesday, Kosovos government ordered the creation of its first national army by upgrading its current lightly armed civil response force. It will have 5,000 active soldiers and 3,000 reservists. The decision has been controversial, since Serbian Prime Minister Dacic said the army was not in accordance with the Brussels accord; NATO and Kosovos other western allies have not commented publicly on the plan.

Kosovo

Al Arabiya News

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Emirates 24/7

Reuters

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Euro News

On Wednesday the Macedonian Parliament dissolved as the result of a unanimous vote of 117 present members of Parliament after months of tensions between parties in Macedonias ruling coalition government. Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski announced an April 27 date for snap parliamentary elections, which follows scheduled presidential elections by two weeks.

Macedonia

MINA

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Reuters

Slovenia announced last Friday that their economy had grown by 2.1% in the last quarter, marking the first increase in eight consecutive quarters. In 2013, GDP fell by 1.1%, yet in the last quarter, the GDP rose by 1.2% from the previous quarter. Although the IMF still expects the Slovenian national output to decrease 1.1% over 2014, this is still less than previously feared. The difference can be attributed to government spending cuts and economic reform. Articles: Reuters Balkans.com

Slovenia

Country News Digest

Citizens of Bosnia and Bosnia & Herzegovina have taken to Herzegovina the streets to form plenums in order to voice their concerns and demands regarding government reform. Plenums have formed in the capital, Sarajevo, the town Tuzla, where the protests first began; Zenica, and Mostar, a city with a large Croat population. The Tuzla plenum has already succeeded in prompting the abolishment of the white bread policy, which allowed politicians to continue to receive a salary for a year after the end of their term. Articles: SETimes The Daily Star

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