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Central Asia / Siberia
NEWSLINE: Central Asia, Transcaucasia and RussiaRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Demarkation accord smooths way for Caspian pipeline
The U.S. special presidential adviser on the Caspian, Richard Morningstar, told journalists in Baku on 22 February that Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan will sign an agreement in June on the demarcation of their respective sectors of the Caspian, thereby removing a major obstacle to the proposed construction of a Trans-Caspian pipeline to export gas from Turkmenistan to Turkey via Azerbaijan and Georgia, ITAR-TASS reported. Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev informed Morningstar that the documentation for the proposed Baku- Ceyhan oil export pipeline has been completed, according to Interfax. But the ''Turkish Daily News'' reported on 22 February that the Turkish government and oil industry officials are engaged in cut-throat negotiations on the financing of that project. Georgian President Shevardnadze told journalists in Tbilisi on 22 February that a ''special unit'' has been created to guard the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline but that it does not include NATO troops, according to ITAR-TASS. (Liz Fuller)
More complaints from Iran over Turkmen deal
The Iranian daily ''Iran News'' ran an article on 22 February criticizing the Trans-Caspian pipeline deal signed by Turkmenistan and two U.S. companies last week (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 19 February 1999). While the article notes that Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has been a frequent visitor to Iran, it claims that ''this latest move by Turkmenistan is in effect rejecting the hand of friendship extended by Iran.'' The article mentioned that Turkmenistan still plans a pipeline to Europe through Iran but noted that ''the recent move by Ashgabat has caused Turkmenistan to fall into the U.S. trap.'' It added ''the U.S. presence in Turkmenistan will not benefit that country in the long run.'' (Bruce Pannier)
Turkemen president laments politicization
Saparmurat Niyazov said at the 19 February signing of the Trans-Caspian pipeline deal that ''unfortunately, politicizing is frequent in new international projects,'' ITAR-TASS reported. The news agency reported, however, that Niyazov was responding to a note he had received from the Russian Foreign Ministry complaining about the ''negative effect'' the pipeline could have on the ecological and seismic situation of the region. Niyazov said Turkmenistan is seeking several export routes because the country urgently needs to sell its major exports. He added that the need is greater for his country now than it was ''in Soviet times, when Turkmenistan exported in the late 1980s and early 1990s via Russia more than 85 billion cubic meters of natural gas, worth $15-20 billion. But ''profits were distributed unequally and we were given kopecks,'' he commented. (B.P.)
Car explosion in Almaty
A vehicle exploded in the former Kazakhstani capital on 21 February, RFE/RL correspondents reported. The car was in the center of the city near a gas station when it exploded, killing one person and injuring another. The explosion comes less than one week after several bombs went off in the capital of neighboring Uzbekistan. (B.P.)
Kazakh nuclear victims to receive foreign aid
The Kazakh leader of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk anti- nuclear movement, Olzhas Suleimenov, told a news conference in Almaty on 22 February that international organizations have promised $43 million for the victims of nuclear tests conducted in the area around Semipalatinsk, Interfax reported. Suleimenov said that between 1949 and 1989, 473 nuclear explosions were carried out in the region. Suleimenov said Kazakhstan's government does not have the funds to care for the surviving victims. (B.P.)
Kyrgyzstan to withdraw peacekeepers from Tajikistan
Interfax on 22 February quoted a ''high-ranking source in the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry'' as saying the Kyrgyz battalion serving with CIS peacekeeping troops in Tajikistan will be withdrawn by 25 February. The source said the decision is based on the withdrawal of Russian border guards from Kyrgyzstan, which is to be completed by the end of this year. Kyrgyzstan will then be responsible for guarding its own borders but has insufficient funds to protect both its and Tajikistan's borders. The source also said the decision had ''undoubtedly been influenced by the withdrawal of the Uzbek contingent from Tajikistan,'' which took place last November. The departure of the Kyrgyz battalion leaves only one Kazakhstani battalion and several Russian units as part of the CIS peacekeeping force in Tajikistan. (B.P.)
Uzbek-Kyrgyz border reopens
According to Rustam Anarbotoev, the head of the Kara-Suu District, the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border reopened on the weekend of 20-21 February, following its closure in the wake of the 16 February bombings in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 18 February 1999), RFE/RL correspondents in Bishkek reported. (B.P.)
Armenian election law sparks new accusations
Opposition parliamentary deputies have accused Viktor Dallakian, the author of the new election law, of arbitrarily introducing changes to the bill after it passed in the final reading, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported on 22 February. Those changes increased the powers of the Central Electoral Commission and stipulated that the law takes effect immediately after it has been signed by the president and published. The original wording said the law takes effect 10 days after its publication. On 22 February, deputies demanded criminal proceedings against Dallakian, who rejected charges of deliberate falsification. He said that it is normal practice in Armenia to edit the text of a bill after its passage in the parliament. (L.F.)
Armenian scientist corroborates AIDS cure claim
The sensational claim by Interior and National Security Minister Serzh Sarkisian that Armenian scientists have developed a cure for AIDS is true, former Armenian Health Minister Emil Gabrielian told journalists in Yerevan on 22 February. Gabrielian, who currently heads the national agency for authorizing distribution and sales of pharmaceuticals, said the cure has been tested on 14 AIDS patients, whose condition has improved dramatically. He said the drug will be registered and patented within the next few days, but he added that it must be subject to international tests. Sarkisian announced on state television on 19 February that he and unnamed businessmen financed the research program that yielded the new drug, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. (L.F.)
Russia warns Georgia over picket
In a statement issued on 22 February, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern at what it termed the recent aggravation of the situation on the border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia, ITAR-TASS and Caucasus Press reported. The statement blamed this development on the Georgian displaced persons who have been blocking the bridge over the River Inguri (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 17 and 22 February 1999). It accused them of threatening the Russian peacekeeping force deployed along the internal border and of preventing the repatriation of displaced persons. LF
Georgian arrested for Shevardnadze car bombing
Austrian police arrested Rudiko Goguadze, a former Georgian convict, in Vienna on 20 February on suspicion of involvement in the failed 1995 attempt to assassinate Georgian head of state Eduard Shevardnadze, Caucasus Press and AP reported. Goguadze is also suspected of planning to assassinate Shevardnadze's nephew Nugzar. (L.F.)
U.S., Russia reach steel agreement
Russia on 22 February agreed to reduce its steel exports to the U.S. by almost 70 percent in exchange for the U.S. government's agreeing to drop plans to impose punitive sanctions against Russian steel producers. Under the package of accords, Russia will refrain from exporting hot-rolled steel to the U.S. for six months and will then sell an amount fixed by an annual quota at a minimum price, RFE/RL's Washington bureau reported. Russian steel makers Novolipetsk and Magnitogorsk already switched about half of their exports to cruder products, such as steel slabs, which have lower profit margins, the ''Moscow Times'' reported on 16 February. The agreements are expected to be signed in late March, after a public discussion period has elapsed, according to ITAR-TASS. (Julie A. Corwin)
Rash of regions to default on foreign debt?
Citing Finance Ministry sources, ''Kommersant-Daily'' predicted on 23 February that nearly half of Russia's regions may default on their debt owed to foreign creditors. Leading the pack may be Leningrad Oblast, where legislators are now considering in the third reading a 1999 budget that does not make provision for paying a 1.8 billion ruble ($80 million) debt, $50 million of which is owed foreign banks, according to the newspaper. Ministry of Finance officials fear that other regions will follow Leningrad Oblast's example, forcing the federal government to decide whether or not to bail them out. The same day, Standard & Poor's lowered Sverdlovsk Oblast's long-term foreign-currency issuer credit rating from CCC- to ''selective default.'' The 1999 federal budget contains only $9.5 billion for foreign debt payment while nearly $17.5 billion is owed (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 22 February 1999). (J.A.C.)
Hurdles to aid removed as food prices rise
The price of 25 basic foodstuffs rose 12 percent in January, while consumer prices in general rose 8.5 percent, according to the State Statistics Committee, Prime-Tass reported on 22 February. In the regions, the basket of foods cost the most in Yakutsk, at 832.8 rubles ($37.17) compared with 476.7 rubles nationally and only 347.4 rubles in Ulyanovsk. Meanwhile, the State Customs Committee announced on 20 February that it will simplify clearance rules for EU and U.S. food aid to Russia, Interfax reported. The committee's announcement follows the signing of an additional EU-Russian memorandum on food aid. Earlier in February, the EU postponed the delivery of such aid, accusing Moscow of imposing extra requirements that were unreasonable and not mentioned in the original Russian-EU food aid memorandum. (J.A.C.)
Russian stocks rising again
Shares on Russia's stock market soared 7.4 percent on 22 February, according to the benchmark Russian Trading System, but inched up only 0.76 percent on 23 February. Analysts say the gains are driven by primarily speculative interest sparked by a government plan to allow foreign investors holding defaulted short-term treasury bonds to invest discounted proceeds into stocks, Bloomberg reported. However, one nay-sayer, investment manager Mark Mobius of Templeton fund managers, predicted last week that Russia would have the best performing emerging market this year, the ''Moscow Times'' reported. According to Bloomberg, Russia's stock index has risen 29 percent so far in 1999, outperforming all other primary stock indexes. Earlier in the month, stocks experienced a five-day rally (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 12 February 1999). (J.A.C.)
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February 25, 1999
