4/20/15 4/24/15

Deutsche Welle New York Times

On Friday, Armenians from around the world gathered in

Istanbul to mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide, and

visit the places from which their ancestors were gathered to be

expelled. Demonstrators held signs demanding official Turkish

recognition of the Armenian genocide, which the government

has long denied. Turkish nationalists also demonstrated, calling

the genocide claims a lie. On April 24th

, the Turkish

government officially commemorated the centennial of the

Battle of Gallipoli in WWI.

The Guardian New York Times

RFE/RL Wall Street Journal Civil Georgia Kyiv Post

Events to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian

genocide were held throughout the country from April 21-24.

Representatives from over 60 countries traveled to Armenia to

attend the events, including Russian President Vladimir Putin,

French President Francois Hollande, and Serbian President

Tomislav Nikolic. In addition, the Armenian Genocide

Museum-Institute reopened on April 21 after undergoing

renovations. The centennial will be officially commemorated on

April 24.

Panarmenian Asbarez

AFP RFE/RL

RFE/RL Moscow Times

On Wednesday, the United States accused Russia of deploying

more air defense systems into eastern Ukraine and being

involved in the training of separatist forces, in breach of a

cease-fire agreement, according to U.S. State Department

spokeswoman Marie Harf. Harf said the increasingly complex

nature of the training exercises of rebels leaves no doubt that Russia is involved. The claims come as Ukrainian troops and separatist forces resumed exchanging fire this week near

Donetsk and the port city of Mariupol.

This week Georgia hosted President of Belarus Alexander

Lukashenko for his first visit to the country, and to meet his

Georgian counterpart Giorgi Margvelashvili. I am ashamed to have never been to Tbilisi and other parts of Georgia, only

Abkhazia, said Lukashenko. In his speech, he also recognized Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia and noted the absence

of political disagreements between Belarus and Georgia.

The Moldovan Central Bank discovered that Moldova lost 1

billion dollars through suspicious bank transactions in the days

leading up to last Novembers parliamentary elections, amounting to nearly one fifth of the countrys GDP. Anti-corruption prosecutors and American auditors have now begun

investigating the transactions, which threaten to destabilize the

countrys entire banking system.

Two human rights defenders in Azerbaijan who were

campaigning against political imprisonment have themselves

been detained and imprisoned by Azeri police. Prosecutions of

human rights activists have recently intensified as the country

prepares to host the inaugural European Games. Human rights

groups claim that, under president Aliyev, the number of

political prisoners in the country is continually on the rise.

Last Saturday, President Alexander Lukashenko announced that

he will not be attending this years Victory Day celebrations in Moscow on May 9, in order to attend the celebrations in Minsk.

Instead, he said he would probably be in Moscow to celebrate on May 7 and 8 to show our unity with the Russian people and others. Although Lukashenko will not be attending the events in Moscow on May 9, he has criticized other leaders who

refused to participate due to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

On Wednesday, the E.U. brought antitrust charges against

Russian gas giant Gazprom. According to Margrethe Vestager,

the European Competition Commissioner, the company has

abused its position in central and eastern Europe by hiking

prices and barring customers from selling gas across borders.

Gazprom has called the charges unfounded and hinted at political motivations. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also

dismissed the charges as an unacceptable application of EU law to past Gazprom deals. Vestager has said that the charges

are not political.

The Guardian Human Rights Watch

On Thursday, US defense officials reported that a convoy of

Iranian cargo ships suspected of carrying weapons for Houthi

rebels in Yemen reversed course in the Arabian Sea, avoiding a

potential confrontation. The US had sent warships to the Gulf of

Aden on Thursday and was prepared to intercept the Iranian

convoy to prevent arms from reaching the rebels in violation of

a UN resolution. Iran has repeatedly been accused of supplying

the Houthi rebels with arms as a Saudi-led coalition continues a

nearly month-long bombing campaign targeting them.

Wall Street Journal International Business Times

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met with Zhang Chunxian,

secretary of the Xinjiang Regional Committee of the

Communist Party of China in Dushanbe on Monday to discuss

cooperation between Tajikistan and Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Rahmon and Zhang also took part in

groundbreaking ceremonies for the construction of a large-

scale energy project and five new secondary schools by the

Chinese company TBEA.

China News Service Times of Central Asia

Authorities in Turkmenistan have launched a new campaign to

destroy all privately owned TV and radio satellite dishes in the

country. The government justifies the campaign by claiming that

the dishes detract from the citys architectural beauty, but NGOs and independent media say that the campaign really aims to

block access to international media. Although this is hardly the

first time the authorities have tried to eliminate privately owned

satellite dishes, this effort seems more serious, with officials

employing seasonal workers to eliminate the dishes while

residents are at work. Times of Central Asia RFE/RL

Following the resolution of the longstanding dispute over the

Oyu Tolgoi copper mine with the Rio Tinto Group, Mongolia

has experienced a burst of economic optimism. Dollar bonds

rallied this month, and investors have been bidding up shares of Mongolia-leveraged companies and sovereign bonds, according to a broker with Mongolias largest brokerage firm. In a move motivated to inspire goodwill among locals for the

mine, Rio Tinto has also pledged $5 million per year to resolve

conflicts with nomadic herders and water issues related to the

construction on the mine.

Bloomberg Reuters

On Tuesday, South Korea and Uzbekistan agreed to expand

cooperation in military education and personnel exchanges.

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo met his Uzbek

counterpart, Kabul Berdiev, in Seoul for a five-day visit, the

first trip by Uzbekistans top defense official to South Korea in seven years. During the talks, Berdiev and Min-koo signed a

memorandum of understanding, after which Berdiev toured

major defense firms in South Korea.

On April 23, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Joomart Otorbaev

announced his resignation in parliament amid controversy

over the operations of the countrys largest gold mine, Kumtor. Otorbaev himself gave no explanation of the

resignation, though he said that there must be no monopoly

on power in a democracy. Otorbaev, who took power a year

ago, staunchly resisted calls to nationalize Kumtor and made

it his priority to reach a deal with Centerra, though opposition

parties and local residents in recent years have increasingly

called for the mines nationalization. RFE/RL EurasiaNet

IHS Korea Herald

A suicide bombing at the Kabul Bank branch in Jalalabad on

Saturday killed at least 35 civilians and wounded 125 more. It is

still unclear who was responsible for the attack, which targeted

a crowd of people waiting to collect their pay. Zabiullah

Mujahid, Taliban spokesman for eastern Afghanistan, denied

that the Taliban was behind the attack. President Ashraf Ghani

stated during a speech on national television that ISIS had

claimed responsibility. However, ISIS spokesman Sheikh

Muslim Dost denied that the group was responsible.

Daily Beast New York Times

Snap presidential elections in Kazakhstan will be held on

Sunday, a year before current President Nursultan Nazarbaevs term will officially end. Observers expect Nazarbaev,

representing the Nur Otan party, to win easily over opponents

Turgun Syzdykov of the Communist party, and former regional

governor Abelgazi Kusainov. Nazarbaevs platform emphasizes political stability and economic reform, which have been tested

over the last year in response to an economic downturn.

Tengrinews Moscow Times

of-cease-fire-deal?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=world

On Thursday, Amnesty International accused the Czech

Republic of failing to comply with a 2007 European court

order to stop placing Roma children in schools for the mentally

disabled regardless of the students capabilities. Amnesty found that Roma children comprised of almost 30% of the

students in Czech Republic schools for those with mild mental

disabilities, even though Roma make up less than 3% of the

countrys population. The rights group also claimed that Roma pupils who go to mainstream schools are often segregated from

other students.

On Tuesday, Hungary joined Poland in criticizing FBI Director

James Comeys remarks on the Holocaust, in which Comey equated Hungarian and Polish involvement to Germanys role. As Comey said, In their minds, the murderers and accomplices of Germany, and Poland, and Hungary, and so many, many

other places didn't do something evil. In response, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying "The

words of the FBI director bear witness to astounding

insensitivity and impermissible superficiality." The FBI has not

issued a public apology.

In a rare diplomatic rift between Poland and the United States,

Poland summoned the US ambassador over remarks made by

FBI director James Comey in an op-ed last week that suggested

Polish complicity in the Holocaust. Comeys comments drew criticism across Poland and led the Polish foreign ministry to

demand an apology. Comey wrote a letter to the Polish

ambassador to the US clarifying his statement. "The Polish state

bears no responsibility for the horrors imposed by the Nazis. I

wish I had not used any other country names because my point

was a universal one about human nature," he said.

Business Review Focus

British retailer Tescos sales performance in Slovakia dropped 2.8 per cent year-on-year according to company reports published on

Wednesday. Tesco operates more than 150 shops in Slovakia and

has been present in the country since 1996, making it one of the

largest private employers in Slovakia. The company plans to unify

its managements systems for its operations in Czech Republic,

Slovakia, Hungary and Poland, to make the business more

competitive.

Slovak Spectator ESM

On Wednesday, Mihai Albulescu of the Romanian Ministry of

Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises and Business

Environment, signed an agreement in Sofia, Bulgaria regarding

the construction of a vertical gas corridor that will link

Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. The corridor will allow gas

diversification away from Russian energy. In another agreement

with Bulgaria this week, the two countries approved a draft plan

for cooperation in fields of drug policy and emergency medical

care.

Al Jazeera The Star Defense News ABC

Latvian power company Latvenergo has awarded Alstom a

contract valued at over 100 million euros to refurbish 6x69MW

Kamplan units for the Riga hydropower plant on the Daugauva

river. The Riga hydropower plant is one of the three main

hydropower plants in Latvia, which together produce more than

50% of the country's electricity.

Hyrdro World Water Power Magazine

Wall Street Journal Reuters

RFE/RL

Washington Post NPR

Baltic Course

On April 22, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite visited

Moldova and received the countrys highest state decoration, the order of the Republic of Moldova, for her personal

contribution to the development of Moldovan-Lithuanian

relations and her vocal support of Moldovas efforts at EU integration. Grybauskaite also said that Moldova could

confront pressure from Moscow with economic stability and

increased rule of law.

NATO conducted massive cybersecurity drills in Estonia this

week as part of the Alliances efforts to upgrade its capability to counter potential attacks from ISIS and Russia. Teams from

16 nations took part in the Locked Shields 2015 exercise at

NATOs cyber defense center in Tallinn. The annual drill is one of the largest of its kind.

On Wednesday, Bulgaria agreed to build a link to natural gas

grids in neighboring Romania and Greece, known as a vertical

gas corridor. The new link will cost about $236.2 million and

become operational in 2018. Bulgarian Deputy Prime

Minister Tomislav Donchev highlighted the fact that Europes gas map is changing and connections with neighbors allow

Bulgaria to be ready for all future scenarios. Last week, Bulgarias government also began a tender process for deep

water gas and oil exploration off its Black Sea coastline.

Wall Street Journal

Several thousand protesters gathered in Pristina on Saturday for

a march organized by the countrys three leading opposition parties. The demonstrators criticized government interference

in the media, protested a recent increase in electricity prices,

and called for the resignation of Enver Hasani, president of the

Constitutional Court. Reports of the number of protestors vary

from a police estimate of 2,500 protesters to a claim of 20,000

by the opposition party Vetvendosje (Self-Determination).

On Wednesday, Serbia sold a famed Yugoslav-era film

studio for eight million euros, transferring the rights to an

archive of classic cinematography amid protests from Serbian

filmmakers. Avala Film, a studio founded in the wake of

WWII by leader Josip Broz Tito, produced hundreds of

movies on the outskirts of Belgrade. It fell into bankruptcy in

2011. A petition was started as the sale neared to exclude the

film archive from privatization, without success. Critics say

the sale of the rights is indicative of the lack of state care for

arts and culture in Serbia.

In the wake of the hit HBO TV series Game of Thrones,

Croatias southern coast saw a boom in tourism, especially around the medieval town of Dubrovnik, due to its role as the

setting of the show. The show, based on George R.R.

Martins fantasy novel series, has gained worldwide popularity and aided Croatias overall economy. Dubrovnik has since seen 10% annual growth in tourism. At present,

tourism accounts for nearly a fifth of Croatias economy.

On Monday, Albania and the United States signed a strategic

partnership agreement to enhance their security and

counterterrorism efforts. Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir

Bushati met with US Secretary of State John Kerry and US

Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian

Affairs Victoria Nuland in Washington, DC on Monday. The

officials discussed continuing economic cooperation and US

support for Albanias judicial reforms as well as opportunities

for enhancing cooperation in the fight against ISIS.

On Thursday, Slovenias Constitutional Court overturned the conviction of former Prime Minister Janez Jansa for corruption,

annulled his two-year prison sentence, and called for a retrial,

citing procedural irregularities. Jansa, the leader of the right-

wing Slovenian Democratic Party, was convicted in 2013 of

bribery in connection with an arms deal with Finnish defense

group Patria in 2006. Jansa has insisted the allegation was

politically motivated and appealed the conviction.

FOX News

Early on Tuesday, around 40 gunmen believed to be affiliated

with a disbanded ethnic Albanian paramilitary group, the Kosovo

Liberation Army (UCK), attacked a Macedonian police post near

the border with Kosovo. The gunmen briefly took several border

officials hostage. Interior Ministry spokesman Ivo Kotevski

referred to the incident as a terrorist attack and said that the

gunman had called for the creation of an Albanian state.

Opposition media suggested the incident had been invented by

the government to distract from an ongoing corruption scandal.

Montenegro is hosting a parliamentary delegation of Georgia

this week to discuss bilateral cooperation and issues related to

the NATO and EU integration. In particular, the speaker of the

Montenegrin parliament, Ranko Krivokapic, will meet with

his Georgian counterpart Davit Usupashvili. We, somehow, are in simultaneous regimes in terms of NATO integration - said Usupashvili, ahead of the meetings with the Prime

Minister of the country.

Greek Reporter

Turkish Weekly Ukraine Today InSerbia Reuters

Skift.com SCMP

Reuters

US Department of State Sputnik Civil.ge Agenda.ge

Reuters RFE/RL

On Wednesday, Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik said

that Turkey prevented his plane from flying over its territory,

preventing Dodik from attending a ceremony in Yerevan to

mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide. Dodiks plane returned to his capital Banja Luka after spending four and a

half hours at an airport in eastern Bulgaria, waiting for

authorization to fly over Turkish territory, his cabinets statement read. Turkey denied the allegations and accused

Dodik of not following protocol.

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The Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies strives to

increase understanding and appreciation of the cultures and challenges of

the region stretching from Central Europe to the Pacific and from the Baltic,

Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas.