Eurasia Week in Review - July 18, 2014
False reports surfaced that United States Congress allegedly granted Georgia major non-NATO ally status, while Russia held military exercises with several Central Eurasian countries. Read these stories and other top news highlights from the region below.
· This week saw circulating fake reports that U.S. Congress supposedly passed the Russian Aggression Prevention Act. In fact, Senator Bob Corker introduced the bill on May 1st, 2014, and it was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, where it has since stalled. If passed, the legislation will grant Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova major non-NATO ally status. This status would make it easier for these countries to receive security assistance from NATO countries. The bill also recommended that President Obama expand military cooperation and assistance to Georgia, Azerbaijan, and other Eastern European countries following continued Russian aggression in Ukraine.
·The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, held joint military exercises—codenamed “Frontier 2014”— that focused on reducing the threat of extremism in the Central Asian region. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani armed forces participated in military exercises with Bulgaria.
·Kazakhstan announced it made $2.6 billion from defense contracts signed at its biennial defense expo held earlier in May; however, as Josh Kucera reported in The Bug Pit, the Kazakh government has spared few details on these defense contracts.
·The United Kingdom announced it would provide military equipment to Kazakhstan in exchange for permission to transport military cargo from Afghanistan through Kazakh territory.
· In a blog post for The Bug Pit, Josh Kucera highlighted the visit of the top U.S. military logistics official, General Paul Selva, to Georgia to discuss regional transit issues as the U.S. and NATO prepare to exit Afghanistan.
Selva noted during his visit: "Our strategic relationship and our long and trusted relationship not only in respect to our operation in Afghanistan but security in overall region and stability of the United States, NATO partners and European partners to have access to transit through Georgia and to Georgia in the event that security and stability in the region are threatened."
· The U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan issued an official statement in response to recent violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia. "The use of force will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and we reiterate our call upon all parties to refrain from the use or threat of force," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the co-chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)’s Minsk Group, the body responsible for negotiating a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, will hold consultations with the U.S. State Department regarding the conflict.
· The arrest of a political opposition member in Georgia may jeopardize the country’s plans for accession to the European Union (EU). The U.S. Ambassador to Georgia and the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, both issued harsh statements condemning the arrest.
· The NATO Liaison Officer for Central Asia visited Kyrgyzstan to meet with senior representatives of Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Defence and review bilateral NATO-Kyrgyzstan dialogue and cooperation.
·Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan resumed border dispute talks following recent deadly border clashes on July 10.
·Paramount Group, a South African-based military equipment manufacturer, delivered 30 armored vehicles to Azerbaijan.
·Georgian troops ended their four-year deployment in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province as part of the NATO-led security mission there.
