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Central Asia / Siberia
NEWSLINE: Central Asia, Transcaucasia and RussiaRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Turkmen minister visits Iran for oil export talks
Boris Shikhmuradov made a one-day visit to Iran on 6 February to discuss possible routes for exporting Turkmen natural gas and oil, IRNA reported. In his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, Shikhmuradov said his country is in favor of exporting oil via Iran as ''the Iranian route is economical and safe.'' The chairman of Iran's Expediency Council, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told Shikhmuradov in a separate meeting that he agrees with that viewpoint and hopes for the speedy implementation of agreements between the two countries, ''despite overt and covert opposition of the U.S. to the transfer of energy . . . via Iranian territory.'' Shikhmuradov also met with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who described Tehran-Ashgabat relations as ''deep-rooted and strong.'' Shikhmuradov and the Iranian officials with whom he met agreed on the need for clearly defining the ''Caspian Sea's legal regime.'' (Bruce Pannier)
Fire halts Azerbaijani oil flow through Georgia
The Azerbaijan state oil company SOCAR has been forced to halt the pumping of Caspian crude through the Baku-Grozny- Novorossiisk export pipeline as a result of a 4 February fire in the Chechen sector of the pipeline, ITAR-TASS reported on 9 February. The incident had led to a complete halt in the extraction of oil from the offshore Chirag field, which earlier had produced 90,000 barrels per day. Also on 9 February, a Georgian official with Chevron's Georgian subsidiary said the Georgian government has agreed to reduce from $7.75 to $5 per metric ton the tariff for the rail shipment from Baku via Georgia to the Black Sea port of Batumi of Kazakh oil produced by the Tengiz-Chevroil joint venture, Reuters reported. (Liz Fuller)
Kazakhstan limits imports from neighbors
Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Nurlan Balgimbayev told journalists in Astana on 9 February that in order to protect domestic producers, his country will limit imports from neighboring Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Interfax reported. Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy, Industry, and Trade, Mukhtar Ablyazov said the restrictions will affect several food imports. He also said the government will form an anti- dumping committee. (B.P.)
Kazakh government holds session on economic results . . .
Prime Minister Balgimbayev told the government on 9 February that last year Kazakhstan was able to mitigate the impact of the world financial crisis, Interfax reported. However, he noted that Kazakhstan posted a $1.7 billion trade deficit owing to the fall in world prices of the country's major exports: oil, metals, and grain. At year's end, inflation was 1.9 percent, significantly below the 9.5 percent forecast. The average wage in Kazakhstan remained the highest among CIS countries, at the equivalent of $120-$130 monthly, while the average monthly pension rose to $48. He said the government has paid nearly all pension arrears. Balgimbayev also noted that the country attracted $2.2 billion in investments in 1998, up on the 1997 level. (B.P.)
. . . Following report on trade statistics
The chairman of Kazakhstan's State Statistics Committee, Jaksybek Kulekeyev, announced on 8 February that foreign trade in the first 11 months of 1998 fell by 7 percent, Interfax reported. Exports fell by 15 percent, compared with 1997, and totalled $5.5 billion. Imports increased during the same period by 1 percent, totalling $7.13 billion. Trade with CIS countries, including ''shuttle'' trade, totalled $5.8 billion, an 11 percent drop from 1997. Exports to the CIS were worth $2.4 billion, while imports were unchanged against 1997 figures, at $3.4 billion. (B.P.)
Kyrgyz president meets bankers . . .
Askar Akayev, meeting with the heads of the country's 24 commercial banks in Bishkek on 9 February, said bankers need to formulate a plan for building a national banking system, RFE/RL correspondents reported. Akayev recommended the banks do more to attract private investors, noting that small and medium- sized banks that have already done so survived the initial impact of the Russian financial crisis. Akayev also emphasized the importance of the bank's support for agriculture, noting that this is a strategic industry and that 95 percent of state loans to farmers in 1998 were paid back. Akayev warned that the government, the National Bank, and commercial banks must ensure that there is no repeat of last fall's devaluation of the som. (B.P.)
. . . Hears complaints
The chairwoman of the Association of Bankers, Sharipa Sadybakasova, said the National Bank has too much control over commercial banks, and she recommended greater independence for the latter. The chairman of the National Bank, Ulan Sarbanov, said his institution will continue to exert strong control over commercial banks. He favored limited independence for commercial banks. The chairman of the board of directors and the owner of KRAMDS bank brought up the subject of Erkinbek Alimov, the bank's chairman, who is currently held on charges of embezzlement. Both said there is no legal reason for his arrest, as Alimov had only approved loans to people who then embezzled that money. They demanded his release, threatening that otherwise they will appeal to international organizations. (B.P.)
Another senior Armenian official shot dead
The body of Deputy Interior and National Security Minister Major-General Artsrun Markarian was found close to a major highway north of Yerevan on 9 February, RFE/RL's bureau in the Armenian capital reported. He had been shot in the head and chest. Markarian had been seriously wounded in January 1998 in what appeared to have been an assassination attempt (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 21 January 1998). (L.F.)
Armenian parliament upholds telecom monopoly
Deputies voted narrowly on 9 February to reject an opposition demand that ArmenTel be stripped of its monopoly on the telecommunications sector, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Eduard Yegorian of the opposition Hayrenik faction, who had initiated the debate, told RFE/RL that the vote means Armenians will continue to pay high prices for mediocre telephone connections. On 8 February, former Communications Minister Grigor Pokhpatian issued a statement denying allegations made by a former U.S. employee of ArmenTel that he accepted bribes from the company's former shareholder, Transworld Telecom Company (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 9 February 1999). (L.F.)
Azerbaijani oppositionists sentenced
Seven supporters of defeated Azerbaijani presidential candidate Etibar Mamedov were sentenced to terms of two to three years' hard labor on 9 February on charges of hooliganism, resisting arrest, and insulting the honor and dignity of President Heidar Aliev, Turan reported. The men had participated in an unsanctioned demonstration in Baku in November 1998 to protest the alleged falsification of the outcome of the 11 October presidential election (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 9 November 1998). Also on 9 February, parliamentary deputies representing six opposition parties, together with an unspecified number of independent deputies, announced the creation of the Democratic Bloc, which will hold its founding congress on 16 February. (L.F.)
Russia arrests former Georgian official
Valerii Gabelia, who was a local administration official under Zviad Gamsakhurdia in 1990-1991, has been arrested by Russian police near Moscow, where he has lived since leaving Georgia in 1994, ''Nezavisimaya gazeta'' reported on 10 February. The Georgian government had requested his extradition to stand trial on charges of treason, attempting a coup d'etat, and banditry. (L.F.)
Russian banks thin out fast
Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko told reporters on 9 February that Russia may have only 200-300 commercial banks by the end of 1999. According to Gerashchenko, Russia had about 1,500 banks as of early September 1998. Since then, 200 banks have lost their licences, while 200 more licences are likely to be pulled. The next day, more than 300 angry Inkombank depositors gathered in Moscow to plan a 23 February march on the Central Bank to demand their savings, the ''Moscow Times'' reported on 10 February. Inkombank's customers want earlier compensation than they are currently likely to get if they wait for Inkombank's bankruptcy case to make its way through Russian courts. (Julie A. Corwin)
Central Bank scandal fails to excite press
Recent allegations by former Prosecutor-General Yurii Skuratov against the Central Bank have failed to attract much Russian press attention. According to the ''Journal of Commerce,'' the Duma's Audit Chamber concluded that more than 50 percent of the bank's annual operating expenses was spent on staff compensation. Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko told the chamber that this was in line with practices at Western banks. However, citing Western banking sources, the newspaper reported that 20 percent is standard for most Western commercial banks, while most countries' central banks spend less than 10 percent on staff. In statements after news of Skuratov's allegations broke, Gerashchenko praised the work of the Audit Chamber to the detriment of the Prosecutor-General's Office. (J.A.C.)
S&P's warns of debt downgrade
Standard & Poor's warned on 9 February that it will downgrade Russia's foreign debt ''in the near future'' if the country does not receive new external loans or take action to bolster its foreign exchange reserves. The previous day, former Prime Minister Sergei Kirienko told reporters in Germany that Russia and its creditors should make a ''political decision'' to write off half of Russia's debts inherited from the Soviet Union and to refinance IMF loans without coordinating an economic program, Interfax reported. According to ''Kommersant-Daily'' on 10 February, Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov sent Kirienko to Bonn for talks with financiers and will deploy him during the next round of negotiations with the IMF. First Deputy Prime Minister Yurii Maslyukov reported an IMF mission will be in Moscow 18-20 February, while IMF Moscow representative Martin Gilman told Interfax no date has been set. (J.A.C.)
(c)1998 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
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February 12, 1999
