Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on February 1 joined a growing chorus of critics taking aim at embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Given Turkey’s rising influence in the Muslim world, Erdogan’s words seemed set to catalyze Egyptian protesters. His comments also underscored a looming democratization dilemma for Ankara.
New guest workers are coming to the cotton and rice fields of southern Tajikistan, and they are already sowing seeds of discontent.
Locals are outraged at the prospect of Chinese farmers arriving to work Tajik land, following Dushanbe's decision this week to lease out 2,000 hectares of land to the Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China.
BRUSSELS -- Top NATO and European Union officials met Uzbek President Islam Karimov in Brussels amid strong condemnation from nongovernmental organizations, who bemoan Tashkent’s woeful human rights record.
The Brussels visit is the first in years for the authoritarian leader and has dismayed rights groups, who say it marks his rehabilitation in the West.
MOSCOW -- The presidents of Afghanistan and Russia have taken steps to resurrect economic and political ties that have been almost nonexistent since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Turkey's yearning for recognition as a vital player on the global stage will reach fulfillment on January 21 when Iran and six world powers gather in the apt setting of Istanbul for the latest leg of the byzantine negotiating process over Tehran's suspect nuclear program.
NATO, not the European Union, initiated the idea of inviting Uzbekistan’s controversial leader, Islam Karimov, to visit Brussels, according to an aide to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. Karimov is scheduled to meet with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Barroso, EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, as well as Belgian authorities, on January 24.
Unlike its neighbors, Azerbaijan has long shied away from close partnerships with either the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the Russia-dominated Collective Security Organization. A recent military compact with Turkey, however, suggests that Baku may be preparing to change that strategic game plan.
The first day of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe summit in Kazakhstan produced consensus on the need to address security threats. But as participants prepared for the final day of the gathering, deep divisions remained on key democratization issues, including human rights standards.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s administration in Kazakhstan is hoping the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit, which opens in Astana on December 1, will enhance the Central Asian nation’s global prestige.
