Eurasia News Week in Review - May 2, 2014

05/02/14
Daniel Resnick
Central Asia
Terrorism, Security, Military, Human Rights, Security

This week Georgian officials proposed that NATO deploy defensive military equipment in Georgian territory, while the United States criticized the Central Asian states’ counterterrorism policies. Below is a roundup of these stories and some of the other top articles and news highlights from around Central Eurasia over the last week:

Top stories from the South Caucasus and Central Asia:

  • A number of developments regarding Georgia – NATO relations occurred this week, as Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania visited Washington and NATO’s special representative to the Caucasus and Central Asia, James Appathurai, traveled to Georgia:
    • During remarks at an Atlantic Council conference, Alasania stated that NATO should show greater commitment to its non-alliance partners (e.g. Georgia) by expediting NATO’s enlargement process and by dedicating additional assets to its partners.  For instance, Alasania invited NATO to deploy air-defense and anti-armor equipment in Georgian territory to deter further Russian aggression against its neighbors. NATO’s special representative James Appathurai responded that the proposal has been passed on to alliance members and will be reviewed. 
    • In a separate proposal revealed this week, Georgia suggested a resolution to a hurdle it faces in attaining NATO membership: NATO’s concern about Georgia’s territorial dispute with Russia over breakaway regions South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In essence, Georgia proffered that neither territory would receive NATO’s Title V protection, which would decrease the likelihood that NATO would get involved in a conflict with Russia over the Georgian territories.  
    • For more analysis about these developments, please consult Joshua Kucera’s blogs on Security Assistance Monitor and The Bug Pit.  
  • The U.S. State Department released its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, with Joshau Kucera offering a useful overview of the report’s findings for Central Eurasia on The Bug Pit. As Kucera wrote, the State Department criticized the Central Asian states’ responses to terrorism in the region, identifying “a failure to distinguish clearly between terrorism and violent extremism on one hand and political opposition, or non-traditional religious practices, on the other.” Kucera noted that the State Department was more complementary of counterterrorism efforts in Georgia and Azerbaijan. 
  • This week the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan and other U.S. officials identified a need to balance between U.S. economic interests and human rights concerns in Azerbaijan. On the one hand, Azerbaijan serves as an important energy source to Europe and a partner to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan; on the other hand, it is increasingly cracking down on human rights and opposition activists. For instance, this week Azerbaijan detained (and later released) two of the country’s foremost human rights activists, who were also involved in civilian diplomacy efforts to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The U.S. State Department criticized Azerbaijan’s recent detentions, but denied rumors that it tried to help the activists flee the country. 

 

Quick hits from the South Caucasus and Central Asia:

  • After the secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said the organization would stop its joint activities with NATO last week, Armenian officials stated the country, despite its membership in the CSTO, does not intend to suspend its cooperation with the western security alliance.
  • Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry disputed reports that Kazakh citizens are fighting in Ukraine on behalf of pro-Russian militias as “groundless,” though it promised to further investigate the matter.
  • Officials from NATO and the Kazakh Ministry of Defense met late last week to discuss their 2014-15 partnership goals. The discussion largely focused on preparing Kazakh troops to participate in United Nations peacekeeping activities.
  • Both Armenia and Azerbaijan held military exercises this week.
  • Azerbaijani officials expressed frustration over what they perceive as a lack of commitment by the Minsk Group, comprised of France, Russia and the U.S., to resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
  • Freedom House released its annual Freedom in the Press report, and Eurasia remained the least free region in the world. According to Freedom House, 97 percent of people in Eurasia live in countries where the press is Not Free. Coincidentally, the State Department began a “Free the Press” campaign during its Daily Press Briefings and highlighted journalists from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan who are currently being detained by their governments.
  • The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held hearings on U.S. policies in Afghanistan and the greater South Asia region. The hearings afforded State Department officials another opportunity to discuss the department’s New Silk Road initiative, which aims to increase prosperity and security in Afghanistan by strengthening Afghanistan’s connectivity with its neighbors in South and Central Asia.