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10/28/13-11/1/13

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Country News Digest Y Y Y Vol.3, Issue #9

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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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Azerbaijan

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The commander of a Russian military unit stationed in Armenia said Wednesday that should Azerbaijan seek to reestablish control over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh by force, Russias CSTO obligations will require its intervention. Georgian and US officials have expressed alarm at the presence of the Russian base in Armenia. Azadlyg

Country News Digest

Russia

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On Wednesday Italian newspaper Corierre della Sera published an article accusing Russia of spying on leaders of the G20 at its annual summit in St. Petersburg this September. The paper alleges that Russia distributed gifts, such as USB drives, equipped with spying capabilities to delegates. Russias government strongly denied the allegations. New York Times

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Reuters

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The Georgian presidential election was held on Sunday, with Georgian Dream candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili winning a decisive victory with 62% of the vote. Margvelashvili was handpicked by Prime Minister Ivanishvili to represent the party, indicating the growing strength of the party over outgoing president Saakashvilis United National Movement.

Georgia

Ukraine has signed a $10 billion shale gas productionsharing agreement with Chevron in an effort to seek gas independence from Russia. The exploration and extraction deal at Olesska in western Ukraine will have an initial $350 million investment from Chevron to test Olesskas viability. Total investments, including extraction and exploratory drilling, will be around $10 billion.

Ukraine

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RFE/RL

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In a meeting in Minsk last week, the heads of state of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan discussed Armenias pending membership in the Russia-led Customs Union. The leaders have yet to develop a timeline for accession. President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus indicated that the membership process may take months or years to complete.

Armenia

Asbarez

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The EU is extending its sanctions against Belarus for another 12 months due to the countrys incarceration of political prisoners, human rights abuses, and lack of democratic and judicial reform. Travel bans and asset freezes affecting 232 people will remain in place until October 31, 2014. The EU says it is still committed to promoting human rights in Belarus, and that it believes Belaruss attendance at the Vilnius Summit will strengthen relations.

Belarus

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Armenia Now

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RFE/RL

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An underwater rail tunnel linking Europe and Asia across the Bosphorous Strait was opened on Tuesday. Part of Prime Minister Erdogans mega projects, the tunnel, called the Marmaray, will carry approximately 1.5 million commuters across Istanbul every day. The idea of connecting the two continents across the Bosphorous has been a dream since the time of the sultans. The tunnel was opened on Turkeys 90th anniversary. Articles: New York Times Al Jazeera

Turkey

The OSCE hosted a conference on confidencebuilding measures on Wednesday and Thursday with the participants of the 5+2 talks regarding relations between Moldova and its breakaway region of Transnistria. The head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova expressed hope for progress on longoutstanding goals, including reopening the Gura Bicului Bychok bridge between the western and eastern banks of the Dnistru/Dniester. Articles: Moldova.org Interlic

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Kyrgyzstans minister of energy said Tuesday that in order to prepare adequately for the upcoming winter, the ministry would require 30 million USD worth of credit; exact causes of the budget shortfall are unclear. Electricity shutoffs have plagued Kyrgyzstan for the past few winters. Experts have voiced concerns that this winter will be particularly difficult, owing to low water levels in Toktogul reservoir. hydroelectric Azattykresource.Articles: Centrasia.ru

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Kyrgyzstan

Country News Digest

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High-ranking Taliban militants have vowed to boycott elections in Afghanistan until all foreign troops are withdrawn from the country. Since the presidential elections slated for next April will take place before the US completes its troop withdrawal, the Taliban and other jihadist groups say they will not participate.

Afghanistan

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NBC News

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Press TV

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National media has been publishing appeals for members of a Kazakhstani jihadist commune in Syria, featured in a YouTube video that surfaced last week, to return to Kazakhstan. The head of the Union of Muslims of Kazakhstan, a nongovernmental organization, has said the alleged jihadists were victims of a trap, and should be amnestied if they choose to return. Officials have yet to comment.

Kazakhstan

Tengri News

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Iranian state television reported Saturday that authorities had hanged 16 Sunni prisoners in retaliation for an attack on the southeastern Iran-Pakistan border the previous day. The attack killed at least 16 border guards near the border town of Saravan. Independent media outlets report that the executed prisoners were arrested before the attack, and are not believed to have any direct connection to the event.

Iran

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Azattyq

Al Jazeera America

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On Friday Tajikistans Social Democratic Party, a united coalition of various opposition parties, declared an official boycott of next weeks presidential election. The party cites constitutional violations, intimidation and state-organized falsifications by incumbent President Emomali Rahmons administration as reasons for the boycott.

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan celebrated its independence day this week with a massive military parade in central Ashgabat. The holiday marks twenty-two years of independence for the Central Asian state. President Berdymukhamedov commemorated the holiday by pardoning 1,002 prisoners.

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Trend.az

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News outlets reported Tuesday that the bank accounts of Terra, a media company believed to be owned by President Karimovs daughter Gulnara, have been frozen pending an official investigation. This announcement came after seven of Terras television and radio programs were removed from the air, due to allegations. The news has prompted speculation that Gulnara, sometimes called the princess of Uzbekistan, may be losing favor with her father. Articles: Ozodlik Global Post

Uzbekistan

The President of Mongolia, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, flew to North Korea this week in the first visit by a foreign head of state since Kim JongUn took power. Elbegdorj said the goal of his visit was to present his countrys history as an example of how to achieve sovereignty and economic development without relying on the use of force.

Mongolia

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Global Post

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The Diplomat

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Vladimir Veitman, a retired Estonian counterintelligence officer, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of treason for spying for Russian secret services. Veitman was arrested last August for providing Russia with classified Estonian intelligence. He retired from the Estonian counterintelligence and anticorruption agency KaPo in 2011.

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Estonia

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On Saturday the Czech Republic held legislative elections, in which the leftist Social Democratic Party won a narrow majority with 20.56% of the vote. The elections came after a year of political turmoil in the country, which saw the resignation of former Prime Minister Petr Necas in June. Al Jazeera

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RIA Novosti

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France 24

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Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite commented last week on recent economic pressure from Russia on Eastern European states with ties to the EU. In an interview, she focused on the huge pressure from Russia on Ukraine not to sign Association and Free Trade Agreements with the EU. She also discussed Russias ban on Lithuanian dairy imports.

Lithuania

RFE/RL

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Slovakia is planning to coorganize a 2022 Winter Olympics bid with Poland in Krakow. It will contribute around 481,000 by the end of July 2015 in prepatory work. The Education, Science Research and Sport Ministry says that they will need to modernize current facilities but will not build new venues. The project would use Slovakias ski resort of Jasn in the Low Tatras as the venue for the alpine events during the games.

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Baltic Course

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Zee News

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Ilmars Rimsevics, the governor of Latvias central bank, stated this week that he expects inflation to rise only 0.2 or 0.3 percentage points as a result of the Baltic countrys pending adoption of the Euro at the end of the year. Critics of Latvias accession to the Eurozone point to Estonias increased inflation after adopting the Euro as a cautionary tale.

Latvia

On Tuesday, Hungary published figures showing that the unemployment rate is now at 9.8%, marking a consecutive six month decline. The government has also announced plans to bring the number of employed persons up to 4 million next year. Since the government came to power in 2010, it has launched work-for-subsidy programs and job protection schemes in order to lower rates of unemployment.

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Reuters

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RTT News

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Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Polands first postCommunist prime minister, died on Monday at the age of 86. Mazowiecki worked closely with Lech Walesa and advised him on many key matters during the nations political and economic transition in the late 80s and early 90s. Although he and Walesa had a falling out in the early 90s, Walesa commemorated him by saying, Mazowiecki was the best prime minister Poland ever had. Articles: Global Post Time

Poland

Coca-Cola is investing $30 million in a new production line at a Romanian bottling plant for Cappy Pulpy. Coca-Cola plans to make Romania an export hub for its 100 million Eastern European consumers. It has already completed a new warehouse and power plant, and has invested about 525 million euros in Romania since 1991. The Ploiesti bottling plant is the largest in Southeastern Europe and is seen as a center for technological innovation. Articles: Romania Insider Bloomberg

Romania

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Gazprom has started building the Bulgarian section of the South Stream pipeline. This section will be 335 miles long and will cost $4.8 billion. Bulgarian consumers can expect their first gas deliveries in December 2015 at reduced prices, since it will be delivered directly into the EU, bypassing current pipelines that travel through Ukraine. The pipeline will reach full capacity in 2018. Articles: Moscow Times Bloomberg

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Country News Digest

Croatia

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Bulgaria

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Serbian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Ljubisa Dikovic and his Croatian counterpart Drago Lovric met in Belgrade on Monday to discuss joint military and security cooperation between the two countries. Both countries emphasized the success of the 15 joint projects that were undertaken last year and discussed potential plans for future multinational projects. Articles: B92 SETimes Zdravko Cimbaljevic, former head of Montenegros LGBT Forum, says he has decided to ask for asylum in Canada because of death threats and a weak response from governmental authorities. He claims he stepped down as head of the Forum because of these threats, and that Montenegrin authorities have not done enough to protect gay rights. Cimbaljevic was the first person in Montenegro to openly declare his homosexuality.

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A group of Albanian environmentalists is calling on the government to refuse a UN request to import and dispose of part of Syrias chemical weapons stockpile. The Security Council resolved in September to destroy all of Assads chemical weapons by June 2014; Albania was approached due to its experience destroying its own chemical weapons supply in 2007. The group says complying with the UN request would blatantly contradict state legislation.

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Balkan Insight

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Air Serbia, Serbias new airline, made its inaugural flight from Belgrade to Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The airline has replaced the countrys previous air carrier, JAT Airways, after Middle East air carrier Etihad Airways acquired a 49% stake in the company. Air Serbias first plane was named in honor of Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis champion.

Serbia

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Sports Illustrated

Kosovo made final preparations this week for the November 3 polls, which will be the first statewide elections since it declared independence in 2008. While Serbian leaders have encouraged their co-ethnics in the Serb-dominated north to take part, a UNDP survey released last week found that only 16% of Kosovar Serbs plan to vote. The success of the elections is seen as a precondition for Kosovos and Serbias eventual EU integration. Articles: Balkan Insight SETimes

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Greece has proposed the name Slavo-Albanian Macedonia for FYROM, provoking outrage from many groups in Macedonia. The spokesman for the Albanian party in the ruling Democratic Union for Integration said the proposal was ...unacceptable and that it disrupts the process of negotiations.

Macedonia

The International Monetary Fund has joined other international organizations in expressing concerns over Slovenias banking sector. Antonio Spilimbergo, the leader of Slovenias IMF mission, stressed the urgent need to recapitalize the banks in order to maintain the countrys stability.

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This week the unofficial Bosnia & results of the recent census Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina were announced. According to the results, 54% of the countrys 3.7-3.8 million people identify as ethnic Bosniak, 32.5% as Serb, and 11.5% as Croat. The official results of the census are expected to be released in the coming months.

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World Bulletin

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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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