Jul 18, 2018 | Caspian, Kazakhstan, Menas Associates
President Nursultan Nazarbayev may not run for re-election in 2020, according to Kasym- Zhomart Tokayev, chairman of the upper house of parliament and second in the political hierarchy. ‘I do not believe that President Nazarbayev will run in the presidential elections...
Jun 19, 2018 | Azerbaijan, Caspian, Menas Associates
President Ilham Aliyev, of Azerbaijan, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (Tanap) on 12 June. The US$7.9 billion Tanap project will transport gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field to Turkey’s western...
May 14, 2018 | Caspian, Menas Associates
The past is looming large in Georgia. Former president Mikheil Saakashvili (2004–2013) and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili (2012–2013) have both clearly indicated their return to Georgian politics. Since Saakashvili’s involuntary deportation from Ukraine in...
Apr 22, 2018 | Caspian, Kazakhstan, Menas Associates
The government and National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK – central bank) have begun working on an action plan to deal with possible negative impacts on the Kazakh economy from the latest round of US sanctions against Russia. US sanctions have been made on a number of...
Mar 27, 2018 | Caspian, Menas Associates
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili made a direct appeal to Russia to normalise bilateral relations. His statement appeared on 9 March and immediately caused an uproar amid the opposition. As Kvirikashvili wrote directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin,...
Mar 2, 2018 | Kazakhstan, Menas Associates
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Justice filed a draft law with the Mazhilis — the lower chamber of parliament — which is aimed at transforming the Security Council into a permanent agency that is protected by the constitution. The Security Council is a consultative...
