A top US diplomat, in Ashgabat on March 3-4, reiterated Washington's strong interest in developing energy ties with Turkmenistan.
Richard Morningstar, the secretary of state's envoy for Eurasian energy, reportedly told President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov that US companies are "increasingly" interested in investment opportunities in Turkmenistan.
Rising rents at markets in Uzbek city of Andijan are causing food prices in the city to soar, an opposition website is reporting.
"If a couple of days ago one kilo of beef cost [approximately $4.50] today it costs [approximately $4.90]," the news website Uznews.net reported on March 4. Fruits and vegetables are also more expensive.
Oil dollars may have helped Azerbaijan weather the global financial crisis, but non-oil-related revenue is expected to account for much of the country's predicted 2.7-- percent economic growth for 2010, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on March 3.
Former de facto Abkhaz President Vladislav Ardzinba, who led Abkhazia's post-Soviet campaign for independence from Tbilisi, died in a Moscow hospital on March 4.
Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations flew the 65-year old Ardzinba to Moscow on February 26. Ardzinba, who suffered from cancer, was placed in Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital the same day, news agencies reported.
Former Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze has become the second prominent Georgian politician in recent weeks after former prime minister Zurab Noghaideli to hold talks with Russian officials.
The European Union has dished out a 459.9-million-euro ($627 million) aid package to the South Caucasus as part of an ongoing campaign to build closer ties with the EU's neighbors to the east and southeast.
The re-opening of a Georgian-Russian border checkpoint, a vital gateway to Russia for Armenian exports, has put another key regional player, Azerbaijan, on guard.
The US Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy, Richard Morningstar, is in Turkmenistan for a series of high-level meetings.
Morningstar, who is on a two-day visit that is scheduled to conclude March 4, is discussing "further cooperation in the energy sector" with top officials, according to a statement issued by the US Embassy in Ashgabat.
US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, says Kyrgyzstan will continue to lease Manas Transit Center to the US military.
