Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s reluctance to support Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia’s independence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe last week has clearly damaged the organization’s internal cohesion, revealing cleavages between its strongest members–Russia and China. But Nazarbayev also gave hope to Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and other Central Asian leaders to maintain a more balanced East-West policy in spite of Russian pressure.
By Emil Danielyan
Months of confidential diplomatic contacts and exchanges of unusually cordial statements have left Armenia and Turkey on the verge of an historic rapprochement that would have far-reaching ramifications for regional security. This weekend President Abdullah Gul will become the first leader of modern-day Turkey to set foot in Armenia, in what could be a prelude to the normalization of extremely strained relations between the two neighboring states.
By John C. K. Daly
On June 29 Mongolia held its fifth round of parliamentary elections for the Ulsyn Ikh Khural (State Great Hural, or Parliament) since the country abandoned Communism in 1990 and held its first multiparty elections. Opposition parties cried foul; two days later the country’s capital erupted in rioting, leading the president to declare four days of martial law and the opposition parties to boycott taking their seats in parliament for two months (Montsame News Agency, June 29-July 2).
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