BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament has given its initial green light to a partnership agreement with gas-rich Turkmenistan, aimed at bringing the Central Asian country closer to the European Union.
But the draft agreement has been criticized for risking legitimatizing a repressive regime.
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.
The OSCE summit, which opened December 1 in Kazakhstan, is offering member states an important opportunity to address regional security concerns. It also is providing a chance for participants to address shortcomings in the sphere of human rights.
Yanki is a 23 year old who is tall and beautiful. Walking around Istanbul, people regularly gaze at her, many with quizzical, even critical looks. “I want to be accepted by society because I am just like everybody else,” she says. But it is not so easy for a transgender woman in Turkey to gain acceptance.
The U.S. plans to expand security cooperation with Central Asia, U.S. diplomats say, according to The Bug Pit blog last week. That means they will increase the capacity of the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), the system to deliver non-lethal military cargo for U.S. and NATO forces through Central Asia to Afghanistan. The U.S.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake visited Uzbekistan November 9-10, 2010, his third trip since assuming his current position. Little information was provided from the U.S.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul met with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on November 12 in the Caspian resort city of Turkmenbashi, state and regional media reported. The Turkmen leader said relations between the two countries "have a great future," especially given the trade turnover of more than $2 billion this year, with 600 Turkish companies registered in Turkmenistan.
After the European Union decided to move to a more cooperative approach with Turkmenistan when extending its interim trade agreement last year, and after the U.S. decided to increase cooperation with the annual bilateral consultations (ABCs), the multilateral organizations deepened their already-soft approach.
