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Central Asia / Siberia
NEWSLINE: Central Asia, Transcaucasia and RussiaRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan pledge to end Caspian dispute
In a telephone conversation on 16 March, Presidents Aliev of Azerbaijan and Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan agreed to instruct the working groups charged with finding a compromise agreement to the two countries' dispute over ownership of Caspian oil fields to expedite the drafting of the appropriate documents for signing next month, Russian agencies reported. Those documents will specify the precise location of the dividing line between the two countries' respective sectors of the Caspian and clarify ownership of the Chirag and Azeri fields, to which both countries lay claim. A decision on the median line delineating the two countries' sectors of the sea is a precondition for construction of the planned trans-Caspian gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan. (Liz Fuller)
Kazakh premier expounds on economic woes
Nurlan Balgimbayev, addressing an expanded session of the government on 16 March, said the economic situation in the country is ''not simple,'' noting that industrial output in the country fell 5 percent in the first two months of 1999, Interfax reported. Balgimbayev said oil refining at the Atyrau and Pavlodar plants decreased owing to a shortage of raw materials. He also identified tax collection as a problem: in 1998 only 89.3 percent of taxes were collected, and on the basis of figures for early 1999, it is estimated that the figure will drop to 78.9 percent for this year. The premier added that in a survey of 38 major industrial enterprises put ''under management of foreign and domestic investors,'' only one in four improved its economic and financial performance last year. (Bruce Pannier)
Former Kazakh premier criticizes Chevron deal
Akezhan Kazhegeldin has called the deal between the U.S. oil company Chevron and Kazakhstan ''ill-conceived and unprofitable,'' according to the weekly ''XXI Vek,'' cited by Interfax on 15 March. Kazhegeldin said when the contract was signed in 1993, Chevron agreed to pay a $420 million bonus but not until the TengizChevrOil joint venture began producing 12 million tons of oil annually. Kazhegeldin said it will be a long time before this quota is reached. He noted that in 1996, when he was prime minister, he sold off 25 percent of Kazakhstan's stake in the Tengiz project to another U.S. oil company, Mobil, for $1.1 billion, which was transferred to Kazakhstan's foreign account immediately. (B.P.)
Another 30 Tashkent bomb suspects arrested
Kazakhstan's police say they have apprehended 30 more ethnic Uzbeks in Taldy Kurgan and Almaty who are believed to be members of a group called Uzbekistan Islam Haraketi, RFE/RL correspondents in Almaty reported on 17 March. Police say all the detainees have Kyrgyz passports. Moreover, some of the group escaped to Turkey, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates before police could arrest them. (B.P.)
Uzbekistan resumes gas shipments to Kyrgyzstan
An official at the state company Kyrgyzgaz told RFE/RL correspondents in Bishkek on 16 March that Uzbekistan is again sending supplies of natural gas to Kyrgyzstan. Uzbekistan greatly reduced supplies of gas on 12 March, creating shortages of energy in areas in northern Kyrgyzstan, including the capital, Bishkek. (B.P.)
Uzbekistan, Turkey in auto joint venture
President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan and Suleyman Demirel of Turkey attended the opening ceremonies of a joint-venture automotive plant in Samarkand on 16 March, Interfax reported. The plant will produce 5,000 vehicles annually. Turkey's Koc Holding Company built the $65 million plant and is co-owner. It is the second automotive assembly plant to open in Uzbekistan. The UzDaewooAvto plant in Andijan began operating in 1996 and has an annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles. (B.P.)
Armenian president, parliament on collision course
Presidential press secretary Gabrielian said on 16 March that President Robert Kocharian will veto a parliament bill to reduce electricity tariffs if lawmakers pass it in the second and final reading, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Deputies voted in favor of the bill in the first reading the previous day, after Kocharian had met with representatives of the Yerkrapah parliamentary group, the largest in the legislature, to try to persuade them to prevent passage of the bill. Gabrielian failed to specify what steps Kocharian will take if the parliament overrides his veto, which it can do by a simple majority. AFP on 16 March quoted an Armenian government spokesman as repeating opposition to the parliament's proposal to reduce energy tariffs, which, the spokesman said, would worsen the economic situation and lead to a fall in tax revenues and foreign investment. (L.F.)
Russian deputy PM ends visit to Japan
First Deputy Prime Minister Yurii Maslyukov left Japan on 17 March after a three-day visit, Russian media reported. On 16 March, he attended the fourth session of the bilateral subcommission on economic affairs that discussed Japanese participation in six energy and mining projects in Russia's Far East. Earlier, Maslyukov had discussed Japan's extension to Russia of a $2 billion loan for ecological purposes. Japan had originally said it would provide the money to convert coal-burning power plants into gas-fuelled ones in the Far East. Some Japanese officials, pointing out that such loans are given to developing countries, recently questioned Russia's eligibility for such monies. Japanese officials said several times during Maslyukov's visit that the delay in granting that loan is not connected to the issue of the four Kuril Islands. (B.P.)
Japan hopes for official end to WWII, Kuril dispute
On 15 March, Maslyukov met with Japanese Prime Minister Keidzo Obuchi, who said he hopes that bilateral economic relations will continue to develop and that the two countries will sign by 2000 a treaty officially ending World War II and including an agreement on the disputed Kuril Islands. Maslyukov met with Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura the same day and signed an agreement allowing 1,000 Russian students to attend Japanese universities each year at the Japanese government's expense. Komura commented the following day on Russian concerns about the Theater Defense Missile system Tokyo and Washington plan to establish in the Asian Pacific region, saying he understands Russia's unease but stressing that the system is purely defensive. (B.P.)
Russian prosecutor-general's resignation rejected
The Russian Federation Council on 17 March voted 142 to six to reject the resignation of Prosecutor-General Yurii Skuratov. Skuratov tendered his resignation on 1 February, citing health reasons, but in his speech to the parliament's upper chamber the same day, he said that ''various powerful forces have driven a wedge between himself and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.'' Among those forces he named two former deputy prime ministers, several current ministers and Duma deputies, and ''well known oligarchs.'' He added that ''information about my private life was used,'' having been ''obtained by criminal means.'' ''Kommersant- Daily'' reported the same day that ''a cassette of Skuratov's 'sexual adventures' is in the hands of the leaders of all Russia's TV channels,'' and Duma Chairman Gennadii Seleznev confirmed that there have been ''direct threats from the mass media'' to reveal information about Skuratov. Skuratov told the senators that he will agree to stay on in his position only if President Yeltsin concurs. (Julie A. Corwin)
START-II ratification linked to ABM treaty
Speaking on Russian Public Television on 16 March, Prime Minister Yevgenii Primakov said that if the Duma does not ratify START-II, then the U.S. will likely abandon the anti-ballistic missile treaty. In the face of such a withdrawal, according to Primakov, Russia will ''have to think about a completely new military situation that would require an arms race.'' Meanwhile, Geopolitics Committee chairman and member of the Liberal Democratic Party faction Aleksei Mitrofanov told reporters the same day that he believes the Duma will ratify the treaty in the near future. Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii earlier spoke out against the treaty. (J.A.C.)
Progress made on political accord
Members of Russia's various political branches tentatively lent their support on 16 March to the current draft of the political peace treaty. Presidential administration deputy head Oleg Sysuev, Federation Council Deputy Chairman Oleg Korolev, and Duma deputy and head of the Russian Regions faction Oleg Morozov all initialed the nine-point statement (see ''RFE/RL Newsline,'' 16 March 1999). In addition, representatives of four groups in the Duma also signed the draft statement, which still has to be debated and approved by the Duma and Federation Council. According to ''Kommersant-Daily'' the same day, agreement was possible after Duma representatives backed the Kremlin's formulation that a working group be formed to examine whether the constitution should be amended rather than stipulating that the working group draft those amendments. (J.A.C.)
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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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March 19, 1999
