Georgia: No Discussion of MAP for Tbilisi during NATO Meeting
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels ended, as expected, without debate on the controversial question of Membership Action Plans (MAP) for Georgia and Ukraine. What remains unclear, however, is how to interpret that: Is it the sign that membership is now hopeless for the two former Soviet republics? Or is it merely a change in tactics? Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that a new US presidential administration will take office in January, and its position on NATO expansion is not well defined.

Kyrgyzstan: Nationwide Protests to Bear an Islamic Stamp
BY ARSLAN MAMATOV
As opposition parties around Kyrgyzstan gear up for promised demonstrations in mid-December, one new party is using religion to cement its appeal. Two prominent opposition leaders, Tursunbai Bakir uulu of Free Kyrgyzstan and Nurlan Motuev of the Kyrgyz Patriotic Party, recently announced their unification as the Kyrgyzstan Muslim Union and promised nationwide protests throughout the country in mid-December.

Kazakhstan: Astana’s Reform Drive Ahead of OSCE Chairmanship Disappoints Opposition
BY JOANNA LILLIS
As the end of the year approaches, Kazakhstan has been galvanized into pushing through political reform to meet commitments given to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ahead of Kazakhstan’s 2010 OSCE chairmanship. But the unveiled reforms, officially billed as a major liberalization, did not meet the hopes of opposition leaders, who have attacked them as a sham.

EU to Help Turkmenistan Join Nabucco
The European push for Turkmen gas continued this week with an official visit by Pierre Morel, the European Union Special Representative for Central Asia, to Ashgabat.

Georgia: OSCE Meeting to Focus on European Security
BY JEAN-CHRISTOPHE PEUCH
A record-high number of top diplomats is expected to attend the annual ministerial council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that opens on December 4 in Helsinki. The recent Russian-Georgian conflict and its impact on European security may explain why about 50 of the OSCE’s 56 foreign ministers have confirmed their participation in the discussions.

Georgia: Moving on Toward NATO, Without a MAP
BY MOLLY CORSO
Georgian aspirations to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remain in a holding pattern after the military alliance offered Georgia closer cooperation, but stopped short of agreeing to a full-fledged Membership Action Plan. Some Georgian analysts believe that the lack of a cohesive message from the alliance is a bad signal for Tbilisi.

Kazakhstan Gives US, NATO Airport Rights
Kazakhstan will allow US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces to use a section of the Almaty airport as "a reserve aerodrome for emergency landings" during military operations in Afghanistan. On December 2, the Kazakhstani Senate ratified two 2002 memoranda between Astana and Washington on support for coalition operations in Afghanistan, reported Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper.