0
POPSGeorgia closes air space to Russia "If Georgia doesn’t provide an air corridor, Russia will find alternative ways of supplying its military base here," Aghabekian told EurasiaNet. "After all, Russia is bound by an agreement with Armenia that commits it to keeping the base combat-ready and on high alert. Russia will resort to any method to honor that obligation."
0
POPSIsrael closes arms deal with Azerbaijan Rumblings of Shi'ite political Islam have been particularly noticeable in the more conservative regions that border Iran, and the secular government has displayed concern over Iranian influence. Foreign news outlets have reported that the two countries maintain intelligence and security contacts.
0
POPSAzerbaijan tries to walk tightrope with Russia Some Azerbaijani officials are evidently concerned that if Baku expressed support for Georgia, then Azerbaijan’s own efforts to regain control of Karabakh would suffer. During the Moscow visit, Russian officials reassured Aliyev that he need not be concerned about Karabakh - yet. Medvedev stressed that the Kremlin did not see a connection between Karabakh and Georgia’s separatist entities. "Russia’s position has not changed," Medvedev said, referring to the Karabakh peace process. "We also support continuation of direct talks between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents." Neither Aliyev nor Medvedev touched on the possible Russian large-scale purchase of Azerbaijani gas. Experts in Baku believe that Aliyev’s administration has yet to reach a decision on the matter, and is playing for time.
2
POPS VP Cheney in diplomatic dispute in Azerbaijan The entire US energy strategy in the Caspian Basin is predicated on Azerbaijan’s unwavering commitment to the West. The commitment now looks more fragile than ever, and the Cheney visit may well have done more harm than good, in terms of retaining Azerbaijan’s allegiance to Washington’s energy agenda.
3
POPSArmenia and Turkey probe for better relations The two foreign ministers reportedly discussed the opening of Turkey’s closed border with Armenia, along with the establishment of full diplomatic relations. The two sides also attempted to find common ground on a political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Gul’s office revealed that he will go to Azerbaijan on September 10 to discuss the changing diplomatic situation with Azerbaijani leaders.
6
POPSBush Wants $1 Billion to Georgia for Attacking South Ossetia The NYT finally admits that Georgia was the aggressor: "fighting that began on the night of Aug. 7 when Georgia tried to establish control over a breakaway region, South Ossetia, only to be driven back by Russian forces". And to put that $1 billion figure in perspective the articles says: The aid would dwarf the $63 million the United States provided to Georgia last year, roughly a third of it for training its soldiers, police officers and border guards. Excluding Iraq, the infusion would make Georgia one of the largest recipients of American foreign aid after Israel and Egypt. That Dick Cheney was "sent" by Bush is indicative of the neocon agenda. Georgia did not attack without US or Israeli knowledge, but with their full support. So in essence, the US is to pay $1billion to Georgia for a defeated military invasion and attempt to capture South Ossetia--i.e. for a proxy war.
1
POPSAttack on Mosque stirs anxiety in Azerbaijan A second explosion August 22 at a small power sub-station in Baku’s Khatai District frayed nerves further. The blast left two workers dead and three injured. Investigators are probing a connection between the mosque attack and the power station explosion. Authorities have proclaimed both incidents to be terrorist acts.
3
POPSBaku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline Back to Normal Operations, BP Says continued...... backing out of the BTC pipeline and diverting its oil through Russia amid the military conflict in Georgia. Now, Erlan Idrissov, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the U.S., has written in to say that his country plans to continue with the pipeline project. The crux of his letter: I would like to make clear that the allegations made in the article with reference to the Turkish “Referans” newspaper that Kazakhstan is pulling out of the BTC project are very far from likelihood. The article questions Kazakhstan’s commitment to the existing resource transportation agreements saying that “some countries seem to be bailing out of the existing ”. I would like to address here the core of the issue. First of all, Kazakhstan has declared and more than once proved its unwavering commitment to the principle of diversification of the routes of hydrocarbons transportation to the world markets.
1
POPSThe Ten Most Poluted Places In The World Click on the link and find out more.www.sciam,com. The West also "benefits" from their pollution, since we buy lead and the other contaminants for our "Way of Life". We are all in it for the cheapness of all we consume.
9
POPSHow To Stop Putin What we can do is alter Putin's cost-benefit calculations. We are not without resources. There are a range of measures to be deployed if Russia does not live up to its cease-fire commitments: 1. Suspend the NATO-Russia Council established in 2002 2. Bar Russian entry to the World Trade Organization. 3. Dissolve the G-8. Putin's dictatorship long made Russia's presence in this group of industrial democracies a farce, but no one wanted to upset the bear by expelling it. No need to. The seven democracies simply withdraw. (And if Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, who has been sympathetic to Putin's Georgia adventure, wants to stay, he can have an annual G-2 dinner with Putin.) Then immediately announce the reconstitution of the original G-7. 4. Announce a U.S.-European boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi. The most crucial and unconditional measure, however, is this: Reaffirm support for the Saakashvili government:
3
POPSIsrael Backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia until a "durable peace" is reached. "As soon as a durable peace takes hold we need to move forward with dialogue and peaceful negotiations." DEBKAfile’s geopolitical experts note that on the surface level, the Russians are backing the separatists of S. Ossetia and neighboring Abkhazia as payback for the strengthening of American influence in tiny Georgia and its 4.5 million inhabitants. However, more immediately, the conflict has been sparked by the race for control over the pipelines carrying oil and gas out of the Caspian region. The Russians may just bear with the pro-US Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili’s ambition to bring his country into NATO. But they draw a heavy line against his plans and those of Western oil companies, including Israeli firms, to route the oil routes from Azerbaijan and the gas lines from Turkmenistan, which transit Georgia, through Turkey instead of hooking them up to Russian pipelines.
8
POPSGeorgia/Russia - The story behind the story
"No sooner was BTC completed, however, than Western officials began exploring the possibility of other pipelines that could reach beyond Georgia and Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan, which was thought to have some of the world's largest gas reserves. Their interest was not only in "energy security" and the prospect of oil riches for Western energy companies, but also in promoting Western-style democracy and free-market capitalism in the former Soviet republics. " "Putin understands better than anyone that oil and gas are the source of Russia's resurgence as a military and economic power and his own control over the Russian government and key sectors of its economy. It is oil and gas that provide the money to maintain Russia's powerful military, along with a vast internal security apparatus and network of government-controlled enterprises that allow the president-turned-premier to maintain his iron grip on the levers of political and economic power. "
6
POPSThe Energy War Begins: From Russia With Bombs
The U.S. and E.U. are also backing an associated project for a natural gas pipeline that would, again, traverse Georgia and Turkey and bypass Russia, thereby lessening Europe’s dependency on gas either sourced from Russia or sourced from Central Asia but controlled by Russia. Tale of Two Pipelines: Europe Seeks to Lower Dependency on Russian Gas Friday, March 07, 2008 By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor (CNSNews.com) - Russia's latest standoff with Ukraine over natural gas supplies has been resolved for now, but the dispute has reinforced the view in Europe that alternatives to Russian energy are sorely needed. Russia's state-owned Gazprom monopoly early this week cut supplies of gas to Ukraine by 50 percent over a longstanding financial dispute. Gazprom says Ukraine owes it $600 million. But after high-level negotiations the company said the restrictions had been lifted. http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=18989
1
Pops
Newest Clips
Latest Comments
Most Pops
Print
Save
Turn on live update