|
Central Asia / Siberia
NEWSLINE:
Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Russia
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Japan's National Oil Corp. to prospect in Kazakhstan
The Japanese National Oil Corporation signed an agreement with Kazakhstan's national oil company, Kazakhoil, in Astana on 1 March, Interfax reported. Under the terms of the agreement, the Japanese corporation will spend $50 million during the next three years to prospect in three different areas in western Kazakhstan. (Bruce Pannier)
Gas supplies from Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan resumed
The managing director of Kyrgyzgaz, Ishenbek Omurbekov, told RFE/RL correspondents in Bishkek on 27 February that supplies of natural gas from Uzbekistan have been restored (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 26 February 1999). Omurbekov said it may take as long as one week for full supplies to reach Kyrgyzstan. (B.P.)
Pro-president party holds founding congress
The reconfigured Kazakhstan political party Otan held its founding congress in Almaty on 1 March, ITAR-TASS reported. The 380 delegates unanimously elected President Nursultan Nazarbayev as party chairman. Nazarbayev, who was present, declined to assume that post, pointing out that the country's constitution forbids an incumbent president to simultaneously be chairman of a political party. The delegates accepted Nazarbayev's recommendation that former Prime Minister Sergei Tereshchenko be elected chairman. Tereshchenko was also Nazarbayev's campaign manager during the recent presidential election campaign. According to Tereshchenko, there are 35,000 members of Otan, which recently merged with the Liberal Movement, the Popular Unity Party, and the Democratic Party, hence the need for a founding congress. Nazarbayev urged delegates not to allow Otan to become ''a party of elites'' but rather to ''unite a broad spectrum of people.'' (B.P.)
Kazakhstan to cut army by 50%
Kazakhstan's Defense Ministry announced on 1 March that it intends to cut the number of army personnel by 50 percent, Interfax reported. The ministry plans to accomplish all the cuts ''within months,'' mainly by reducing the length of service for conscript sergeants and privates from two years to one. The Defense Ministry had announced on 24 February that it will create an all-volunteer army by 2000. However, a law on alternative service, which is to be drafted soon, will allow draftees to avoid military service by paying a fee but will oblige them to undergo basic military training. (B.P.)
Estonian foreign minister visits Astana
Raul Malk met with his Kazakh counterpart, Kasymjomart Tokayev, in Astana on 1 March, BNS and Interfax reported. The two signed an agreement on avoiding double taxation. Malk mentioned his country's desire to ship goods to China via Kazakhstan, and Tokayev said Kazakhstan would like greater access to Estonian port facilities for metals, oil, and grain exports. (B.P.)
Uzbek TV accused of broadcasting anti-Kyrgyz programs
Parliamentary deputy Dooronbek Sadyrbayev told Kyrgyzstan's Legislative Assembly on 1 March, that on a recent visit to his constituency in Jalalabad he had seen television broadcasts from Uzbekistan that were anti-Kyrgyz in nature, RFE/RL correspondents in Bishkek reported. Sadyrbayev said the programming criticized political and economic reforms in Kyrgyzstan and was partly targeted at President Askar Akayev. The mountain ranges that divide Kyrgyzstan mean that it easier for people in southern Kyrgyzstan, particularly in the Kyrgyz section of the Fergana Valley, to receive Uzbek broadcasts than national ones. Sadyrbayev told a 19 February session of the parliament that Uzbekistan has moved some of its border posts into Kyrgyz territory by as much as 24 kilometers. (B.P.)
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan to get Asian Development Bank loans
The Asian Development Bank will grant Tajikistan soft loans of $40 million annually from 1999-2002, Interfax reported on 1 March. The bank will also extend loans of $4 million annually to develop Tajikistan's energy sector, agriculture, the infrastructure, health care, and education system. On 27 February the Asian Development Bank said it will give Kyrgyzstan a $45 million loan this year, $40 million for the agricultural sector and $5 million for reconstruction of the Bishkek-Osh highway, RFE/RL correspondents in Bishkek reported. (B.P.)
Another presidential pardon for foreign prisoners
Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov on 1 March ordered 379 foreign nationals serving sentences in Turkmen jails to be released and sent home, Interfax and ITAR-TASS reported. Niyazov called this latest pardon a ''gesture of good will'' to strengthen friendly relations with ''partner nations.'' Those pardoned come from CIS countries, Pakistan, Latvia, Turkey, and Syria. Niyazov has ordered thousands of prisoners freed this year (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 16 February 1999). (B.P.)
Azerbaijan says NATO bases are its sole defense
In an interview published in ''Nezavisimaya gazeta'' on 27 February, Azerbaijani presidential adviser Vafa Guluzade said his recent proposals that Azerbaijan should host either U.S. or Turkish military bases are ''a cry of despair'' prompted by Russia's ongoing support for Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territory. He said Azerbaijan ''cannot exist if it does not enter some security system or other.'' He added that Baku cannot accept Moscow's invitation to enter its security system while Azerbaijani territory is still occupied. Russia must fundamentally revise its policy toward Azerbaijan if it does not want NATO bases to appear there, Guluzade continued. The official also said that the work of the OSCE Minsk Group has not yielded any progress toward resolving the Karabakh conflict, which he characterized as between Azerbaijan and Russia, not Azerbaijan and Armenia. (Liz Fuller)
Russia accused of entering Azerbaijani airspace
The Azerbaijani foreign ministry issued a statement on 27 February claiming that a Russian MiG entered Azerbaijani airspace from Armenia for a period of two minutes on 25 February, Turan and Reuters reported on 1 March. The statement termed the incident the direct consequence of Russian arms deliveries to Russian bases in Armenia and proof that those arms deliveries are not, as Russia claims, exclusively for defensive purposes. Reuters quoted an unnamed senior Azerbaijani defense ministry official as saying that Azerbaijan could have shot down the intruder but chose not to do so. (L.F.)
Georgian displaced persons start returning to Abkhazia
Abkhaz and Georgian officials have given widely differing estimates of the number of Georgians who wish to take up Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba's offer to allow Georgian displaced persons who fled Abkhazia's southernmost Gali Raion during the 1992-1993 war or the renewed hostilities in May 1998 to return to their homes beginning on 1 March. Georgian parliamentary deputy Vakhtang Kolbaya told Caucasus Press on 1 March that only three Georgians have crossed the bridge over the River Inguri, which marks the internal border. He denied that the Georgian displaced persons who have been picketing the bridge for the past two weeks to protest Ardzinba's initiative have prevented persons who wished to cross from doing so. But Abkhaz Security Minister Astamur Tarba said some 300 persons have gathered near the bridge but are being prevented by the picketers from crossing into Gali Raion. (L.F.)
Corruption probe into Russian cabinet . . .
Nikolai Bordyuzha, head of Russia's presidential administration and Security Council, instructed his staff to investigate corruption allegations, specifically those included in a 25 February ''Nezavisimaya gazeta'' article, against members of Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov's cabinet, Interfax reported on 1 March. The article hinted that First Deputy Prime Minister Yurii Maslyukov procured government contracts for companies in which he or relatives had an interest. It also suggested that the entire cabinet is riddled with corruption. The previous day, Yabloko leader Grigorii Yavlinskii repeated his earlier demand that the government respond to charges of corruption. Maslyukov said that they emanated from organs controlled by politically powerful businessmen whose names are ''symbols of corruption, economic crime, and political extremism.'' That ''Nezavisimaya gazeta'' receives financial backing from Boris Berezovskii's LogoVAZ group has prompted some analysts to speculate that Berezovskii himself is trying to discredit Primakov and his cabinet. (Julie A. Corwin)
. . . As Berezovskii labels cabinet 'dangerous'
Berezovskii told reporters on 1 March that the course being pursued by Primakov's cabinet is ''very dangerous.'' Nevertheless, he added, he will not push for the cabinet's resignation. ''Moskovskii komsomolets,'' a newspaper with close ties to Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov, a Berezovskii foe, suggested on 1 March that the return to television of journalist Sergei Dorenko was evidence supporting rumors that President Boris Yeltsin ordered Primakov to put a stop to attacks on Berezovskii. Russian Public Television, in which Berezovskii reportedly owns shares, has recently come under pressure, and the Duma has demanded that Berezovskii resign from his post as CIS executive secretary. Dorenko is reportedly close to Berezovskii. (J.A.C.)
State of the nation address postponed
President Yeltsin's doctors on 2 March declared his health ''normal.'' Presidential spokesman Dmitrii Yakushkin told ITAR-TASS that Yeltsin's annual state of the nation address, which is usually delivered at the end of February or the beginning of March, will likely be pushed back until the end of March. Russian newspapers widely blamed Yeltsin for his latest health set-back, noting that he had attended the funeral of Jordan's King Hussein against his doctors' advice. (J.A.C.)
Split emerges among Russia's creditors
Chase Manhattan on 1 March followed Deutsche Bank's lead in announcing an agreement with the Russian government on terms for restructuring frozen defaulted short-term treasury bonds, Reuters reported. Headed by Deutsche Bank, the 19 foreign banks negotiating with the Russian government had put up a more or less united front. However, disagreements reportedly emerged among those banks that wanted to settle and those that are contemplating legal action against Russia in order to obtain better terms. ''Izvestiya'' noted on 3 March that for the last two months, German and Russian government officials had been conducting talks on the issue, and ''the role of politics in Deutsche Bank's decision was apparently quite large.'' According to the newspaper, the Ministry of Finance asked on 26 February that creditors be given until 30 April to accept or reject the government's terms. (J.A.C.)
Government to control food prices
Deputy Prime Minister Gennadii Kulik announced on 1 March that Primakov's government intends to ''strictly control prices on foodstuffs,'' Interfax reported. According to Kulik, priority will be given to regulating the prices of bread, dairy products, and vegetable oil. He acknowledged that Russian food prices are already much lower than world prices. For example, the price of one ton of grain costs $110-$120 on the world market and $50-$70 on the Russian market. Meanwhile, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture Vladimir Shcherbak told Interfax that Russia may set minimum prices for sugar beets and sugar. According to Scherbak, ''sugar prices are artificially low'' and do not provide enough incentive to plant a large crop. (J.A.C.)
More indicators of economic decline
More than 55 percent of all large and medium-sized companies were unprofitable in 1998, according to the State Statistics Committee, ITAR-TASS reported. Agriculture was among the sectors hardest hit, registering a 35 billion ruble ($1.5 billion) loss. Meanwhile, the flow of foreign capital slipped 4.2 percent last year and foreign trade turnover 17.6 percent. In January, five of Russia's major industries - manufacturing, agriculture, construction, transport, and trade/public catering - recorded a decline of 6.6 percent in their output of goods and services compared with the previous year, according to the State Statistics Committee, Interfax reported. (J.A.C.)
©1998 RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.
________________________________________________
CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES ON THE WEB
Back issues of RFE/RL Newsline and the OMRI Daily Digest are online at:http://www.rferl.org/newsline/search/To receive reprint permission, please contact Paul Goble via email at GobleP@rferl.org or fax at 1-202-457-6992
_________________________________________________
RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
|
March 04, 1999
