Services

NEWS FLASH

UPCOMING WEBINAR - TURKEY: FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE OR BUSINESS AS USUAL?...

Learn More

COUNTRY INSIGHTS

Crackdown on organized crime in Central Asia
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 28 Mar 2024

On March 27 Raimbek Matraimov and his three brothers were extradited from Azerbaijan to Kyrgyzstan. He was second in charge of the Kyrgyz Customs Service for several years. The State Committee of National Security is detaining him before his trial. Conviction rates in Kyrgyzstan are very high.  M...

Putin blames Ukraine for Moscow concert hall terror
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 25 Mar 2024

On March 22 Putin said that the attackers tried to flee to Ukraine and that Ukraine was involved. He did not state how Ukraine was involved. 4 suspects were arrested in Bryansk, which is near Ukraine. It is possible that the suspects were headed to Ukraine even if Ukraine was not connected to the...

Russia is at war - Putin spokesman
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 22 Mar 2024

On March 22 Dmitry Peskov said that there is a war against Ukraine. Russia had officially labelled it a "special military operation" and criminalized the use of the word "war" in relation to it. However, Putin himself slipped out the word "war" in 2023. Peskov said the situation turned into a war...

EU gives Ukraine EUR 4.9 billion non-military aid
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 20 Mar 2024

On March 20 the President of the European Commission made the announcement. The money has already been released to Ukraine. The money comes from a fund established in March 2024 to pay salaries, welfare and to ensure that infrastructure is kept in a usable condition. In 2022 the EU gave Ukraine E...

Tajik-Kyrgyz Border being agreed
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 19 Mar 2024

On March 17 the two countries stated that they had agreed on 11 km of their 972 km border. Over 700 km is now demarcated. The two nations have a border dispute dating back to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The countries have repeatedly fought a low level conflict over the border. Both are m...

Putin wins record vote in dubious election
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 18 Mar 2024

As we predicted, Putin won a higher share of the vote than ever before: 87%. He expressed his gratitude to those who voted and took the opportunity to praise Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. He said the war explained the high turnout, which was a record breaking 70%. The runner up was the co...

Presidential election underway in Russia
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 15 Mar 2024

On March 15 the election began. Polls close on March 17. The government has warned that protests during elections will be dealt with firmly. Anti-Putin groups armed by Ukraine have vowed to disrupt the election. They have been raiding across the border in March 2024. In the last presidential elec...

Moldova has met most conditions for EU membership
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 14 Mar 2024

On March 12 the EU Commission privately published a report saying that Moldova has met 11 of the 12 conditions for accession talks. The report was leaked to the media. The last remaining condition is to examine the background of judges properly and appoint a new Prosecutor General. There have bee...

Biden approves USD 300 million in military aid for Ukraine
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 13 Mar 2024

On March 12 the US President said this is needed to keep Ukraine in the fight. The money given is what the US military has saved on recent purchases. Therefore, the President has the authority to spend it. Usually Congress and not the president has the power of the purse. Most of the aid will be ...

Kazakh President in Azerbaijan to hail transport link
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 12 Mar 2024

On March 11 President Tokayev was in Baku for the arrival of the first containers to travel from China to Azerbaijan via Kazakhstan. This is via rail and the Caspian Sea, a route of 7,000 km. The journey took 11 days. The plan is for 10 such consignments to travel each month. Tokayev's 2-day visi...

Zelensky delivers peace plan to Turkey
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 08 Mar 2024

On March 8 Zelensky held talks with the Turkish President. The two discussed the war, joint military manufacturing and Ukrainian food exports crossing the Black Sea. This is of interest to Turkey since it buys Ukrainian grain and the rest passes through Turkish waters. Turkey is building corvette...

Sweden in NATO irks Russia
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 08 Mar 2024

On March 7 Sweden formally joined NATO ending over 200 years of neutrality. The accession ceremony took place in Washington. Sweden developed an impressive military manufacturing sector because as a neutral state it could not always be sure of being able to buy arms. For decades Sweden had intero...

Russian air strikes on Ukraine city as Greek PM visits
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 07 Mar 2024

On March 6 Russia continued its aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities. There were strikes on Odesa as the Greek Prime Minister was there. Russia has usually avoided attacking cities while a foreign leader is present. Kyriakos Mitsotakis was holding a meeting with Zelensky in Odesa. Mitsotakis wa...

Russia publishes German Military communications about Ukraine arms
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 05 Mar 2024

On March 1 Moscow proved it had hacked a call between the head of the German Air Force and an officer. The officers discussed British soldiers who are in Ukraine helping the Ukrainians with targeting but not actually fighting. There was talk of Germany maybe supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine. ...

Russia holds Games of the Future
RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS · In Brief · 05 Mar 2024

On March 3 the games closed in Kazan, Russia where they had taken place over 11 days. Kazan is the capital of Tatarstan. The games included 21 events: physical ones and digital games. There was a budget of USD 65 million, and it was claimed that 2,000 people from 107 countries took part. However,...

Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved.