... plays an independent role. The Ukrainian crisis has strengthened the status of Ankara.
Azerbaijan is another winning player. Baku maintains partnership relations with Moscow... ... developments in Ukraine. The balance of losses and gains for Georgia is not yet obvious.
Kazakhstan also plays the role of a hub for Russian business. Here, too, a significant... ... also inevitably affect economic growth.
Finally, two other neighbouring countries, Iran and North Korea, should be mentioned. Tehran has a unique window of opportunity...
Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Turkmenistan met recently to sign the convention on the legal status of the resource-rich Caspian Sea, a document more than two decades in the making. Meeting in the Kazakh coastal town of Aktau in mid-August, the ...
... the principles proposed by Azerbaijan. Thus the division of the shelf has already given rise to the conflict between states, although so far, this is actually only in the diplomatic realm.
Iran’s position has been entirely different to that of Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan. Iran insists that the shelf be divided equally, i.e. with 20% of the shelf going to each of the states bordering the Caspian. Any demarcation lines would leave Iran with only the smallest part of the shelf, and so only a division of this kind – ...
... mechanism for imposing a moratorium on catching sturgeon.
According to official statements, the negotiations only made headway on environmental issues (such as conserving the sturgeon population). In addition, the “Caspian Five” (Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan) reaffirmed the principle of Caspian states’ non-interference in regional affairs.
As far as I can gather, no progress has been achieved on the main problem, i.e. agreeing spheres of influence. And without that, signing the Convention ...
... foreign policy priorities, which will to a great extent define the situation around Iran's nuclear program and the solution of Afghan problems.
One Region – Many... ... specific economic, social and political problems that are sure to surface in 2013.
For
Azerbaijan
, the event of the year is the presidential election. Amended by the 2009... ... of the armed forces
will remain hot topics in Baku.
During the past several years,
Kazakhstan's
key political issue has been the succession of power. It is its first president...
