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This month Washington whose commitment to fighting drug production in the US occupied Afghanistan is widely called into question rolled out a new plan of coordinating the activities of Central Asian republic's anti-narcotic agencies. The initiative was, however, promptly blocked as potentially counterproductive by Russia, the country hit hardest by the Afghan drug output... The US agenda behind the initiative is to gain stronger political and military positions in Central Asia, while Washington actually lacks the resolve to take practical steps towards suppressing Afghan drug production and trafficking...
Aleksandr SHUSTOV | 26.02.2012 |
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Russian general staff chief Gen. N. Makarov warned at a media briefing in Moscow on September 12 that revolutions patterned on the Libyan one can recur in Central Asia... Lack of direct access to Central Asia from the traditional NATO responsibility zone would put serious obstacles in the way of an intervention comparable to the one recently launched against Libya. At the moment the transit routes used to supply NATO bases in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan are entirely dependent on Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan...
Aleksandr SHUSTOV | 19.09.2011 |
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For the first time in Kyrgyzstan's post-Soviet history, the elections which are due in the fall of 2011 present the republic with a chance to name a new country leader at the polling booths rather than at the peak of public unrest. Its previous two regime changes which culminated in the unseating of Askar Akayev and Kurmanbek Bakiyev resulted from the violent 2005 and 2010 coups. However, the widespread impression at the moment is that even the coming legitimate regime change is unlikely to bring the much-needed stability to the republic...
Stanislav PRITCHIN | 05.08.2011 |
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A wave of anti-government protests in the Arab world has made us think about whether such events are possible in other parts of the planet... Taking into account geographical location of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Xinjiang autonomous district of China and other hotbeds of instability, as well as geopolitics of the Central Asian region which has common borders with Russia, China, India and Iran, the consequences of possible unrest will do the former Soviet republics more harm than to Libya.
Aleksandr SHUSTOV | 16.03.2011 |
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According to the analysts with Chatham House, drug trafficking through Kyrgyzstan has increased after the intervention of the US forces in Afghanistan in 2001, where the drug production reached the record level. The rivalry between drug trafficking cartels became one of the reasons of interethnic clashes in the south of Kyrgyzstan... Drug trafficking offense from Afghanistan controlled by Americans threatens Kyrgyzstan the loss of its southern territories...
Aleksandr SHUSTOV | 02.03.2011 |
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The present list of top 10 developments in Central Asia in 2010 was compiled on the basis of the author's assessment of their impact on the region's political and socioeconomic landscape. In any case, the developments surveyed below will likely have enduring repercussions for Central Asia...
Aleksandr SHUSTOV | 18.01.2011 |
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Hizb ut-Tahrirand other similar international radical Islamic political organizations have intensified their activities in Central Asia. In Tajikistan several dozens of members of Hizb ut-Tahrir have been arrested... It was reported that Hizb ut-Tahrirwas “occupying Kyrgyzstan” and its goal was to penetrate into the government and to exclude the party from the list of the illegal organizations. Hizb ut-Tahriris recruitingstate officials, businessmen, parliamentarians into its ranks paving the road for the Islamic state...
Aleksandr SHUSTOV | 26.11.2010 |
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No dramatic changes took place in the political life of Kyrgyzstan after the nation's central election commission had recounted the votes... The possibility of new clashes between the South and the North is again discussed in the media...
Atai MOLDOBAEV | 25.11.2010 |
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Tensions between the Kyrgyz and Uzbek populations in the south of Kyrgyzsatn persist since the June clashes which took at least 2,000 lives. Young Uzbeks are reportedly fleeing in numbers to Muslim militants' camps in the hope to get revenge on the Kyrgyz. Bakiyev's supporters and their Ata Jurt party which championed the recent Kyrgyz elections continue to enjoy serious influence in the region. Further complicating the situation, Osh happens to be a hub on the key drug trafficking route stretching from Afghanistan to Russia. The powder keg obviously awaits another major conflict...
Aleksandr SHUSTOV | 14.11.2010 |
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President Barack Obama's decision to hold a meeting with Kyrgyz President RosaOtunbayeva, whose country has a mere 5 million people, reflects Kyrgyzstan's strategic location at the heart of Central Asia - and more. The meeting immediately follows a major rebuff for Russia in the region and signals how crucial Kyrgyzstan is now for US foreign policy...
Melkulangara BHADRAKUMAR | 25.09.2010 |
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