News
Bulgaria Wants 'Real Results' On 2017 Treaty Before Lifting Veto On Skopje's EU Membership Talks
SOFIA -- Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev said on January 10 that officials in Sofia want "real results" from Skopje toward the conditions of a 2017 treaty on good relations before they drop their opposition to North Macedonia's European Union membership talks.
Speaking after a meeting of Bulgaria's National Security Advisory Council (NSAC) on relations with North Macedonia, Radev said all NSAC members agreed that the start of North Macedonia's EU membership talks should be tied to achieving conditions set out in the 2017 Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighborliness.
That suggests that the Bulgarian presidency, the cabinet of ministers, and the political opposition in Sofia all agree on conditions for lifting the veto on EU talks.
A key issue for Sofia is that Bulgarians in North Macedonia must be equal to other constitutionally recognized peoples there.
Radev says there must be full equality and that the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia must be guaranteed under the constitution and the "institutional architecture" of the country.
Only then, Radev says, will Bulgaria give its approval for the start of Skopje's EU membership negotiations.
The issue is nonnegotiable, Radev added.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov's coalition government also has cited progress on the treaty between Sofia and Skopje as crucial.
Petkov's government has promised to work on resolving remaining disputes between the two Balkan countries, indicating that a six-month deadline for normalizing relations was realistic.
The NSAC meeting in Sofia was held a week before Petkov makes his first official visit to North Macedonia since taking office in December.
Petkov is due in Skopje on January 18 to mark the 30th anniversary of Bulgaria's recognition of North Macedonia's independence from the former Yugoslavia.
- By RFE/RL
Russian Director Who Faces Travel Ban Surprises Cast By Showing Up In Germany For Rehearsals
A Russia theater and film director who faces a travel ban imposed by a Russian court has shocked co-workers in Hamburg, Germany, by unexpectedly turning up there for stage rehearsals.
Kirill Serebrennikov has been working at Hamburg's Thalia Theater in recent days in order to direct rehearsals of a production of Anton Chekhov's The Black Monk.
Serebrennikov has been under a strict travel ban for the last four years by courts in Russia who found him guilty on embezzlement charges. Critics say the case against him was politically motivated and meant to stifle other potential critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Despite the travel ban ordered by the Russian courts, Serebrennikov has continued to direct productions outside of Russia by using remote video conference technology.
Serebrennikov is hailed as a daring and innovative force on Russia's modern art scene, putting him at odds with cultural conservatives there. He also has publicly criticized Russian government policies.
At his trial, he suggested the security forces and a "culture of loyalty" within Russia's Culture Ministry were behind his prosecution.
According to a statement by Hamburg's Thalia Theater, Serebrennikov arrived at Hamburg's international airport on January 8.
The statement quoted Serebrennikov as saying upon arrival that he was "very, very happy and fortunate that Hamburg is the first European city" where he is allowed to work again after more than four years.
Thalia's artistic director, Joachim Lux, said Serebrennikov's return was "encouraging for the idea of freedom and an encouragement for art as well."
Rehearsals for the international production began in Moscow on November 8 with Russian, German, American, Armenian, and Latvian actors.
Rehearsals have continued since January 4 in Hamburg, where a premiere of the production is scheduled for January 22.
With reporting by dpa
Belarusian Gets Two Years In Prison For Insulting KGB Officer Killed In Shoot-Out
MINSK -- Belarusian authorities say a man in the eastern city of Mahilyou was handed a two-year prison sentence for online comments that insulted a KGB officer who was killed in a police shoot-out at a Minsk apartment that also killed an IT worker in late September.
Details remain unclear around the September 28 shooting that resulted in the death of Andrey Zeltsar, a man working for a major U.S.-based IT company called EPAM and a KGB officer, Dzmitry Fedasyuk.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on January 10 that the 45-year-old defendant pleaded guilty to the charge of insulting the officer.
It was not clear exactly what the defendant, whose name was not released, wrote other than defending Zeltsar and criticizing the KGB team involved in the shoot-out.
It is the first court ruling in the case, which the Investigative Committee said in October involved dozens of individuals.
Authorities claimed at the time that "an especially dangerous criminal" had opened fire on security officers after they showed up at his apartment looking for "individuals involved in terrorist activities."
Authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka slammed people who posted comments on social media praising Zeltsar and criticizing Fedasyuk, saying that "we have all their accounts, and we can see who is who."
Belarus witnessed unprecedented anti-government protests after a presidential election in August 2020, in which Lukashenka claimed reelection.
Opposition groups say the vote was rigged, while many Western governments have refused to recognize Lukashenka as the winner.
In response to months of street protests, the government has arrested thousands. Fearing for their safety, most of the top opposition figures have left the country.
Kremlin-Allied Ukrainian Lawmaker Medvedchuk's House Arrest Extended
KYIV -- A Kyiv court has extended the house arrest of Kremlin-friendly tycoon and politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who is being held under suspicion of treason.
Renat Kuzmin, a former Ukrainian prosecutor-general and Medvedchuk ally, wrote on Telegram that the Pechera district court on January 10 had extended Medvedchuk's house arrest for another 60 days.
Kuzmin called the decision illegal as pretrial house arrest cannot exceed six months, while Medvedchuk's is now set to last for at least 10 months.
Medvedchuk, who has been held under house arrest since May, was initially targeted with allegations of treason in a case that has added to tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.
In October, prosecutors announced that he is also accused of colluding to finance Russia-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
Medvedchuk, who has a deep personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his pro-Russia Opposition Platform -- For Life party have both made statements rejecting the charges and calling them politically motivated.
Last year, Ukraine’s National Security Council announced sanctions against Medvedchuk, his wife Oksana Marchenko, and several other individuals and entities.
The sanctions froze the couple’s assets for three years and prevented them from doing business in the country.
In February 2021, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government also sanctioned three television stations believed to be owned by Medvedchuk. The move came shortly after talks between the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Medvedchuk's relationship with Putin runs so deep that the Russian leader is the godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter.
Medvedchuk was sanctioned by the United States in 2014 for undermining democracy in Ukraine.
The sanctions were tied to an investigation into exports of coal to Russia from separatist-held regions in eastern Ukraine.
Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and the Russia-backed separatists who control parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014.
Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 and instigated separatist clashes in Ukraine’s east after anti-government protests toppled Ukraine's Russia-friendly former president, Viktor Yanukovych, in February 2014.
CSTO Leaders To Discuss Kazakhstan Crisis In Videoconference
Leaders of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are scheduled to hold a videoconference on January 10 to discuss the ongoing unrest in Kazakhstan.
A Kremlin spokesman on January 9 confirmed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s participation in the call, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
Kazakhstan has been beset by several days of unrest after demonstrations against rising fuel prices morphed into a general protest against the national government in the autocratic Central Asian nation.
The Kazakh government has requested help from the six-member CSTO made up of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia.
Russia has sent a few thousand troops to Kazakhstan under the auspices of the CSTO, a move criticized by the United States.
Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS
Kazakh President Says Week Of Deadly Unrest Was 'Attempted Coup,' Without Citing Evidence
NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has blamed "a single center" for trying to seize power in the oil-rich Central Asian state in recent unrest as a Russian-led military alliance met for talks to update the situation around a wave of deadly public unrest sparked by a fuel price hike last week that shook the region.
In a speech to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on January 10, Toqaev said calm had returned to the country after protests calling for reforms in the tightly controlled authoritarian country erupted into a spasm of violence, the worst in the Central Asian state's 30 years of independence.
In Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, protesters stormed and briefly seized the airport. For several days, sporadic gunfire was reported in the city streets.
The Interior Ministry said on January 10 that 7,939 people had been detained during the unrest that started on January 2. The Health Ministry said the day before that 164 people were killed in the violence, including three children. Toqaev, however, said the exact number of people killed during the unrest remained unclear as investigations are under way.
Toqaev did not produce any evidence to back up his claim that foreign terrorists were behind the protests. He also dismissed as “disinformation” some reports and eyewitness accounts that authorities had attacked peaceful demonstrators.
Meanwhile, Toqaev's office said in a statement that he told European Council President Charles Michel in a January 10 telephone call that militants from Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the Middle East were behind the recent violence.
The statement said Toqaev told Michel he had "no doubt that it was a terror attack" that was "well organized" and involved "foreign fighters."
Kazakhstan, an oil-and-gas-rich country the size of Western Europe, was thrown into turmoil in the past week after protests over a sharp hike in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the remote western region of Manghystau spread across the country all the way to Almaty.
In the face of mounting unrest, Toqaev declared a state of emergency and on January 5 the CSTO -- a six-member alliance made up of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia -- quickly agreed to help provide security.
At the same time, he also tried to quell dissent by announcing a six-month price cap on fuel and a halt to any increases in utility prices, while also replacing former President Nursultan Nazarbaev as head of the National Security Council.
Many protesters blamed Nazarbaev, who served as president from Kazakhstan's independence until he resigned in 2019 and hand-picked Toqaev as his successor, for the country's woes. Nazarbaev had retained substantial power as the leader of the council.
Toqaev has sought to frame the violence in Almaty as an attack by "terrorist groups" and expressed anger at foreign and independent media coverage of the events, which killed dozens of people and injured hundreds more including members of the security forces.
He praised the CSTO for what he called a "prompt response" to his request to intervene in the situation, adding that a total of 2,050 peacekeeping troops from CSTO members were on Kazakh soil.
"In the nearest future, the wide-scale anti-terrorist operation will be over and along with that the successful and effective mission of the CSTO's troops will end as well," Toqaev said, adding that his government will provide the world with "evidence proving international terrorists" attacked Almaty and 11 other regions in the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the CSTO troops would stymie any attempts by external forces to topple governments within the alliance while accusing "terrorists" of using social media to bring people out into the streets of Kazakhstan as a cover for their attacks.
That allegation, which Putin did not back up with evidence, was refuted by Kazakh opposition politician Zhasaral Quanyshalin.
He told RFE/RL on January 9 that Internet and telecommunications services were switched off across the country to block peaceful demonstrators from communicating with each other. He also accused the authorities of planting troublemakers in the demonstrations to discredit the peaceful protests and justify government actions such as shooting into crowds by security forces and extending an invitation to CSTO troops to enter the country.
"People have demanded that the power-holders who have become used to stealing from them must go. The authorities used their own people to destabilize the situation to turn the protests into chaos and started shooting to kill people," Quanyshalin said, though he did not produce evidence to back up his claim.
As of January 10, Internet service had been restored to most areas, though it remained sporadic in some places.
In the wake of the unrest, Toqaev also dismissed the head of the country’s National Security Committee (KNB), longtime Nazarbaev ally Karim Masimov. Official media reports said Masimov was detained on a high-treason charge.
On January 10, one of Masimov's close allies, KNB Colonel Azamat Ibraev, was found dead near his high-rise apartment block in Nur-Sultan, the capital. Preliminary investigations indicated that he jumped from his apartment window. They did not say whether they suspected foul play.
Authorities in the southern region of Zhambyl said on January 10 that regional police chief General Zhanat Suleimenov was found dead as well. Media reports say he committed suicide after a probe on unspecified charges was launched against him.
Kazakh authorities also declared January 10 a day of mourning for those killed during the violence.
- By RFE/RL
Djokovic 'Pleased' After Winning Court Case But Expulsion From Australia Still Looms
World tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic has said he is "pleased and grateful" over an Australian judge's decision to reverse the cancellation of his visa and voiced hope he will still play in the Australian Open.
Djokovic was released earlier on January 10 from a quarantine hotel in Melbourne after Circuit Court Judge Anthony Kelly reinstated his visa, which had been canceled last week because the unvaccinated Serbian player violated Australia's strict COVID-19 requirements.
"Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete @AustralianOpen. I remain focused on that," he said on Twitter, along with a photo of himself and his training staff standing on the court at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne where the tournament is held.
Kelly ruled the Australian government's decision last week to revoke Djokovic's visa was "unreasonable" and ordered his release within 30 minutes of his decision.
But government lawyers warned that Australia may yet use executive powers to order Djokovic's deportation, which would result in him being banned for three years.
Lawyer Christopher Tran informed the judge that Immigration Minister Alex Hawke may step in with executive powers and order the expulsion of the 34-year-old player, prompting the judge to warn in return that "the stakes have now risen, rather than receded."
Kelly also ordered that the government pay legal costs for Djokovic, who spent several days in the immigration detention hotel, saying that his lawyers argued his "personal and professional reputation and his economic interests may be directly affected."
A group of around 50 Djokovic fans, many draped in the Serbian flag, outside the Melbourne court greeted the court decision with noisy celebrations outside the court.
The Australian Open begins on January 17, and the nine-time defending champion has been stuck in a detention hotel for refugees instead of preparing to potentially win a record 21st Grand Slam.
Earlier on January 10, at an online hearing, the judge appeared to agree with Djokovic's argument that he had presented the required medical exemption upon his arrival at Melbourne's airport last week.
"The point that I am somewhat agitated about is what more could this man have done?" Kelly said.
Lawyers for Djokovic argued that a COVID-19 infection last month qualified the 34-year-old player for the medical exemption from Australia's requirement that noncitizens present evidence of full vaccination.
Court filing shows Djokovic said he received a letter from Tennis Australia's chief medical officer stating he had a medical exemption from vaccination after he tested positive for the coronavirus on December 16 and was free of symptoms by December 30.
Despite Djokovic's claim of a positive test on December 16, he attended events in Belgrade that day and the following and wasn't wearing a mask. It was unclear if he was aware of his infection at the time.
Djokovic initially received an exemption from local Australian officials despite tight restrictions on foreigners' entry amid a spike in infections.
Tennis Australia says his exception “was granted following a rigorous review process."
Tennis Australia says it needs to know whether Djokovic can play by January 11, because it has to schedule the matches.
The treatment of the national star has angered many Serbs.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on January 8 said the government stood ready to provide all necessary guarantees to allow Djokovic to be granted permission to enter Australia.
Djokovic's father, Srdjan Djokovic, said he was "disgusted" at the way his son was being treated.
"The worldwide support he is getting is worth more than dozens of grand slams," he told about 300 protesters. "They can't call this tournament of theirs an open anymore when it's closed."
Djokovic has 20 Grand Slam singles titles, a men's record he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Nadal, who has revealed he is fully vaccinated, said the court ruling was "the fairest" decision.
"Whether or not I agree with Djokovic on some things, justice has spoken and said he has the right to participate in the Australian Open and...it's the fairest decision to do so, if it has been resolved that way. I wish him the best of luck," Nadal said.
With reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, BBC, and Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Iran Says Only 12 Asiatic Cheetahs Left In Country
Only a dozen Asiatic cheetahs are left in the wild in Iran, the deputy environment minister said, describing the situation for the highly endangered species as “extremely critical.”
"The measures we have taken to increase protection, reproduction, and the installation of road signs have not been enough to save this species," Hassan Akbari told the Tasnim news agency on January 9.
He said there are believed to be only nine male and three female Asiatic Cheetahs in the country, compared to an estimated 100 in 2010.
Environmentalists say the world’s fastest animal has been the victim of drought, hunting, habitat destruction, and scarcity of prey due to hunters in the remote and arid central plateaus.
The Iranian Cheetah Society says the only remaining habitats left for the majestic cats is the Miandasht Wildlife Refuge and Touran Biosphere Reserve in northeast Iran.
Asiatic cheetahs once lived across the grasslands of India, Pakistan, Russia, and the Middle East, but have been entirely wiped out except in Iran. The cheetah species is slightly different than those found in parts of southern Africa.
The Iranian government became the target of a domestic and international outcry when a revolutionary court in November 2019 imprisoned at least six conservation experts who are members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, a local group focused on biodiversity protection, especially for Asiatic cheetahs.
The Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organization arrested seven of the defendants in January 2018, as well as Kavous Seyed Emami, an Iranian-Canadian university professor.
The environmentalists were accused of spying for the United States and Israel, “seeking proximity to military sites with the cover of the environmental projects and obtaining military information from them.”
Environmental and rights groups condemned the allegations as fabricated and the trial unfair.
The only "classified dirt" that the conservationists were likely to have accessed in their work is the "dried stool" of cheetahs they were fighting to protect, Mojgan Jamshidi, an Iranian journalist who covers environmental issues said in 2018.
Emami died in detention in February 2018 under suspicious circumstances. Iranian authorities claimed that he committed suicide, a scenario people who knew him said was impossible.
Iran frequently levels espionage charges against political and human rights activists and also dual nationals without publicly providing evidence.
Prosecutions in Iran's so-called revolutionary courts are frequently kept secret from defendants' families and even lawyers. Torture, mistreatment, and forced confessions are also common, according to rights groups.
With reporting by AFP
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Warns Tehran Of 'Severe Consequences' Of Any Attacks On Americans
The United States has warned Iran that it will face "severe consequences" if it attacks any U.S. citizen after Tehran sanctioned 51 U.S. nationals for their alleged role in the death of a powerful Iranian commander two years ago.
"Make no mistake: The United States of America will protect and defend its citizens," Jake Sullivan, the White House national-security adviser, said in a statement on January 9.
"Should Iran attack any of our nationals, including any of the [Americans] named yesterday, it will face severe consequences."
Tehran on January 8 announced the sanctions -- including on U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley -- for their role in the death of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
The move would allow Iranian authorities to seize any assets held in Iran by those sanctioned. But the move is mainly symbolic given the lack of assets held by Americans in the country.
Soleimani, who headed the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was killed on January 3, 2020, in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport.
Soleimani was considered a main architect of Iran's Middle East military strategy and his assassination brought the United States and Iran close to a military conflict. Tehran retaliated by launching a missile strike targeting U.S. forces in Iraq.
In addition to Milley, Iran announced sanctions against former national-security adviser Robert O'Brien and Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"Looks like I'll have to cancel my relaxing getaway to Iran," Haley tweeted in response.
"When you get sanctioned by Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terror, you know you're doing something right," she wrote.
In his statement, Sullivan said that Americans may have "our disagreements on Iran policy. But we are united in our resolve against threats and provocations."
"We are united in the defense of our people [and] work with our allies and partners to deter and respond to any attacks carried out by Iran."
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Ethnic Serbs Celebrate Republika Srpska Day Despite Ban By Bosnia Court
Ethnic Serbs in Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serb-dominated entity celebrated what they call their “national day” holiday, which the country’s top court has twice declared unconstitutional.
Hundreds gathered on January 9 in Banja Luka -- the administrative center of Bosnia’s predominantly Serbian entity, Republika Srpska – for a parade involving members of the entity's police force, emergency workers, representatives of public institutions, sports organizations, and other associations.
Some 2,700 people participated in the parade, which lasted just under an hour. Helicopters from the Republika Srpska Interior Ministry flew overhead.
Bosnia consists of the Serbian entity, a Muslim-Croat entity, and a central government that ties both together in a fragile state.
The arrangement came out of the Dayton Accords, which put an end to the bloody 1992-95 Bosnian civil war.
The peace agreement ended the conflict in which Bosnia's main ethnic factions -- Muslims, Croats, and Serbs -- fought for control after the break-up of Yugoslavia and established the two autonomous regions, along with the deployment of a NATO-led peacekeeping mission.
Zeljko Cvijanovic, head of the Serb entity, told those attending the event in Banja Luka that "we have always gathered for this great holiday to show our commitment to live in peace. You are the best witnesses that it was never easy."
Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia’s three-person multiethnic presidency, told the crowd that “our freedom is not at the expense of others; our freedom is our right. Our goal is peace, and defense of our freedom, building a life worthy of a man.”
He that "he was not chosen to do what the Americans want, but what these people want."
In 2017, the U.S. Treasury Department first imposed sanctions against Dodik -- saying he was actively obstructing efforts to implement the 1995 Dayton accords that ended the war in Bosnia.
The sanctions were expanded on January 5 to include a television station linked to Dodik. https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20220105
Dodik has advocated for the separation of the Bosnian Serb entity from the rest of the country and making it part of neighboring Serbia.
Washington and most Western nations support a unified Bosnia-Herzegovina and reject moves for changes to the border.
The January 9 holiday, which is called Republika Srpska Day, marks the date in 1992 when Bosnian Serbs declared their own state in Bosnia, triggering a devastating four-year war that killed over 100,000 people and left millions homeless.
Bosnia’s top court in 2015 banned the holiday, ruling that it discriminates against Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats.
With reporting by AP and Reuters
- By AP
Detentions Continue Amid Aftermath Of Kazakh Protests
Authorities continued to detain people in Kazakhstan's biggest city, Almaty, on January 8 following anti-government protests, violent incidents, and a deadly crackdown on protesters. AP filmed the detention of a man on an Almaty street. On January 9, some stores in downtown Almaty still had smashed windows. Travelers willing to leave for Russia lined up at the city's airport.
Iranian Judiciary Workers Protest For Higher Pay In Rare Demonstration
TEHRAN -- Hundreds of Iranian judiciary employees gathered in front of the parliament building in Tehran on the second day of protests over the lack of pay raises despite previous government promises.
Many in the rare demonstration on January 9 expressed anger at Parliamentary Speaker Mohmmad Baqer Ghalibaf, chanting "liar, liar" and "Ghalibaf, disgrace."
Ebrahim Raisi, the ultra-conservative Iranian president who took office in August, had proposed salary increases in the final weeks of his previous job as judicial chief.
But the new government has since rejected pay hikes amid severe economic hardships caused in part by crippling sanctions imposed by the United States when it pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
AFP reported protesters chanting, "If our problem is not resolved, we will shut down the justice system!"
Videos posted online have shown similar protests by judiciary employees in other cities, including Karaj.
Mohammad Hossein Aghasi, a lawyer, tweeted from the Karaj courthouse on January 8 that the city’s “courts are practically not working, judges have refused to appear in court."
He also referenced a "week-long strike by judges" and said that "I have never seen such strikes or protests from judges since 1974.”
Reformist newspaper Arman Melli reported that "some judicial personnel organized rallies [on January 8] in most of the country's cities to protest the rejection of the plan for parliament to increase their salaries."
Meysam Latifi, head of the Administrative and Recruitment Affairs Organization, said in parliament last week when a pay increase was rejected that "we are concerned about the demand to raise judicial salaries because that would lead to the same thing at other agencies."
With reporting by AFP
- By RFE/RL
Blinken: Kazakh ‘Shoot To Kill’ Order Must Be Rescinded
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev's “shoot to kill” order and said Washington was seeking clarification on why the Central Asian nation needed to call in a Russian-led security force amid domestic unrest.
"The shoot-to-kill order, to the extent it exists, is wrong and should be rescinded," Blinken said in an ABC-TV interview on January 9.
Cities throughout Kazakhstan have been struck by protests that initially erupted in the western region of Mangystau on January 2 over the doubling in the price of subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The protests have spread and morphed into calls for political reform in the tightly controlled country.
Mobs stormed government buildings, setting some of them on fire, looted businesses, and torched and overturned cars as they called for reforms after decades of stifling rule in the oil-rich former Soviet republic.
In response, Toqaev declared a nationwide state of emergency until January 19, with curfews, restrictions on movements, and bans on mass gatherings.
Toqaev gave permission for security forces to "shoot to kill" demonstrators, whom he described as “bandits” and “terrorists,” labels protesters have dismissed.
Kazakhstan also requested help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) made up of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia.
Russia has sent a few thousand troops to Kazakhstan under CSTO auspices.
"We have real questions about why they felt compelled to call this organization that Russia dominates," Blinken told CNN. "We're asking for clarification on that."
In earlier comments, Blinken said Kazakh authorities “certainly have the capacity to deal appropriately with protests” in a way that respects the rights of protesters while maintaining law and order.
With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
Turkmenistan Mulls End Of 'Gates Of Hell' Gas Flare
Turkmenistan’s authoritarian president has called for the end of one of the country’s most iconic sights – a flaming natural gas pit in the desert known as the Gates of Hell.
The crater in the village of Darvaza, located about 260 kilometers north of the capital, Ashgabat, has been burning for decades and is a popular sight for the few tourists that visit the tightly controlled and isolated country.
The 70-meter-wide crater is believed to have been created in a 1971 gas drilling accident when Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union. To prevent the leaking of natural gas, geologists set it on fire, and it’s been burning ever since.
Now, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has ordered his government to find a way to put the fire out because of its negative impact on the environment and health of people living the village of some 350 people, state media reported following a January 7 cabinet meeting.
Turkmenistan has the world’s fifth largest natural gas reserves, but life for the majority of the country’s 6 million people remains difficult.
Berdymukhammedov has ruled his country with an iron fist, tolerating little dissent while isolating it from the outside world amid an economic crisis that has plunged many citizens into poverty. Shortages of basic goods and food are common.
According to a 2021 article in Bloomberg, Turkmenistan’s aging state-controlled energy sector is one of the world’s worst emitters of the greenhouse gas methane, the main component of natural gas.
Methane is 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a planet-warming greenhouse gas, making controlling leaks from fields and pipes key to combating climate change.
According to monitoring firm Kayrros SAS, Turkmenistan accounted for 31 out of 50 the world’s most intense methane releases at onshore oil and gas operations in 2019, Bloomberg reported.
In 2021, the International Energy Agency estimated Turkmenistan’s overall methane emissions were only behind Russia, the United States, Iran, and Iraq – all major oil and gas producers.
However, Turkmenistan had the second-highest methane emissions intensity in the world, a number that refers to the leak rate or ratio of methane emissions to natural gas produced. Turkmenistan’s leak rate was more than five times larger the world’s top natural gas producer, the United States.
With reporting by Bloomberg
- By RFE/RL
U.S.-Russia Conclude 'Difficult' Geneva Talks On Ukraine, European Security
Delegations from the United States and Russia have concluded eight hours of talks in Geneva as part of what is expected to be a week of high-stakes diplomacy prompted by Moscow's demands for a security deal and its threatening military buildup near Ukraine.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the head of the U.S. delegation, described her bilateral talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as "serious" and "businesslike."
Sherman described the meeting as talks, rather than negotiations, and said the United States did not go line by line through Russia's demands.
Sherman said the United States came to the meeting with a few proposals, including details about the deployment of missile defenses in Europe and limits on military exercises.
She said the U.S. proposals must be reciprocal and rejected Russian calls for a reduction in U.S. troop levels in Eastern Europe, saying that issue was "not on the agenda" on January 10.
For his part, Ryabkov said he had assured Sherman that U.S. and NATO concerns about Russia's military buildup on its border with Ukraine are unfounded.
"We explained to our colleagues that we have no plans, no intentions, to 'attack' Ukraine.... There is no reason to fear any escalation in this regard," Ryabkov told reporters after the talks.
Ryabkov also said the United States "took Russian proposals very seriously" and that Moscow was "for the continuation of dialogue."
But Ryabkov also said after the meeting that "no progress" had been made on Moscow's demand that Ukraine not be allowed to join the NATO alliance. He insisted that future progress in talks with U.S. diplomats depends on this issue.
Sherman said Washington will "not allow anyone to slam closed NATO's open-door policy," which she said was "central to the alliance."
"We will not forego bilateral cooperation with sovereign states that wish to work with United States," Sherman said. "And we will not make decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine, about Europe without Europe, or about NATO without NATO. As we say to our allies and partners: 'Nothing about you, without you'."
Sherman said Washington offered to meet again "soon" with Russia to discuss the issues in more detail.
The talks come amid a standoff over the Russian military buildup near Ukraine's border. The West fears it could signal Moscow is preparing an invasion of Ukraine. Russia seized and forcibly annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. It also has backed separatists who've been battling government forces in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
Before the official start of talks, Sherman and Ryabkov met for a working dinner on January 9 in Geneva.
The bilateral talks in Geneva will be followed by a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels on January 12 and separate multilateral talks under the framework of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on January 13.
The U.S. State Department said ahead of the January 10 meeting that the United States “will not discuss European security without our European allies and partners,” in a reference to Russia’s demands from the United States and NATO for security guarantees.
"The deputy secretary underscored that discussion of certain subjects would be reserved for the NATO-Russia Council meeting in Brussels on January 12 and the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna on January 13," the State Department said.
Sherman "stressed the United States' commitment to the international principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the freedom of sovereign nations to choose their own alliances," the statement said, in a reference to Ukraine and its aspirations of joining NATO.
Sherman "affirmed that the United States would welcome genuine progress through diplomacy," it added.
Ryabkov told reporters ahead of the January 10 meeting that he expected the talks would be “difficult.”
U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held two phone calls in December, accompanied by a flurry of diplomacy involving officials from the United States, its European allies and Ukraine, and Russia that culminates in the three meetings this week.
Putin has issued a series of demands, including guarantees that NATO will not further expand eastward to former Soviet states like Ukraine and Georgia. The Kremlin also wants the alliance to roll back troop and weapons deployments in Eastern Europe.
Ahead of the talks in Geneva, Ryabkov laid out Russia's three demands: no further NATO expansion, no missiles on Russia's borders, and for NATO no longer to have military exercises, intelligence operations, or infrastructure outside of its 1997 borders.
"The Russian side came here with a clear position that contains a number of elements that, to my mind, are understandable and have been so clearly formulated -- including at a high level -- that deviating from our approaches simply is not possible," Ryabkov said.
U.S. officials have said some Russian demands are nonstarters, while others are open to discussion.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that talks with Moscow would not make progress as long as Russia -- which has amassed almost 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine -- has a "gun to Ukraine's head."
"There's a path of dialogue and diplomacy to try to resolve some of these differences and avoid a confrontation," Blinken told CNN on January 9.
"The other path is confrontation and massive consequences for Russia if it renews its aggression on Ukraine. We are about to test the proposition about which path President Putin is prepared to take."
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who will meet with the Russian delegation on January 12 in Brussels, warned Moscow of "severe costs" in case of an invasion of Ukraine, but added that Russia and the West could find a pathway to avoid conflict.
"We also need to send a very clear message to Russia, that we are united and that there will be severe costs -- economic, political costs -- for Russia if they once again use military force against Ukraine," Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna.
"What we are hoping for is that we can agree on a way forward, that we can agree on a series of meetings, that we can agree on a process," he said.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Interfax, and RIA Novosti
Small Protests Continue As Kazakh Government Tightens Grip
Small anti-government protests in the Kazakh city of Zhanaozen continued on January 8 as Kazakhstan's security forces tightened their grip in the capital, Nur-Sultan, and in cities across the country. Dozens of people were killed in unprecedented nation-wide crackdown on protests triggered by a sharp fuel price hike.
- By RFE/RL
Taliban Foreign Minister Visits Iran For Talks Focused On Refugees, Economic Issues
The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan sent its foreign minister to Iran on January 8 to discuss Afghan refugees and a growing economic crisis.
"The visit aims at discussions on political, economic, transit and refugee issues between Afghanistan and Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on Twitter.
The Taliban delegation led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has already held a preliminary meeting with Iranian officials, he said.
It is the first such trip since the Taliban seized power amid the collapse of the Western-backed government and a chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces in August.
Iran, which has not recognized the new government formed by the Taliban, is hosting millions of Afghans and fears a new influx of refugees.
Last month its border guards clashed with Taliban fighters along a segment of the border in what Iranian-state media reported was a "misunderstanding" from the Afghan side.
Shi’ite Iran, which shares a 900-kilometer border with Afghanistan, did not recognize the Sunni movement's rule the first time the Taliban held power in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
"Today, we are basically not at the point of recognizing" the Taliban, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference earlier this week.
The Taliban has formed an all-male cabinet made up entirely of members of the group and almost exclusively of ethnic Pashtuns.
It has further restricted women's rights to work and study, triggering widespread international condemnation.
Based on reporting by AFP
Protesters Opposed To Lithium Mining In Serbia Block Roads
Demonstrators opposed to an international mining company’s plans to mine lithium in western Serbia blocked roads in several cities in the country on January 8 in the latest protest aimed at forcing the government to reject the plans.
The demonstration, which began at 1 p.m. local time and lasted one hour, blocked main highways in the capital, Belgrade, and Novi Sad. An RFE/RL reporter in Novi Sad said the highway was blocked in both directions, and its off-ramps also were blocked, causing long lines of cars.
About 100 people also gathered in Pesak, blocking the main road there. Similar demonstrations were held in other towns and cities.
For weeks, demonstrators have staged regular protests and blocked roads demanding the government reject London-based Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest metals and mining company, which is studying the development of a lithium mine.
Lithium is a key component of car and other batteries, and demand for it is expected to surge in the coming years as automakers switch to the production of battery-powered cars to meet lower carbon emission standards.
The mine would have the potential to generate significant export revenue and jobs for Serbia, especially if the country pursued plans to refine it locally.
But environmental activists say mining for lithium would damage the region’s farmland, ecosystem, and water.
Rio Tinto, which thus far has only carried out explorations, has said it would respect laws and environmental standards.
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said her government was “close to deciding to annul” deals that have been reached thus far with Rio Tinto. But she said the government must first estimate what that would cost.
“You don't want Rio Tinto, you don't want excavations, all right. Let's see what we owe," the prime minister told Pink TV on January 8.
Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said he would ask Brnabic for “clearer arguments” for any decision to withdraw from agreements reached with Rio Tinto.
The Ecological Uprising Movement has demanded that the government make public all agreements that have been reached with Rio Tinto.
With reporting by AP
Jailed Iranian Poet Baktash Abtin Dies After Contracting COVID-19
Jailed Iranian poet and filmmaker Baktash Abtin has died in a hospital in Tehran, the Iranian Writers Association has reported.
Abtin's death, which was announced on January 8, came after the 48-year-old was recently placed in a medically induced coma while attempting to recover from a severe case of COVID-19.
Abtin suffered from coronary heart disease, and after he contracted COVID-19 his family managed to transfer him from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison to a capital hospital on December 14.
A prominent writer and free-speech advocate, Abtin was serving a six-year prison sentence related to his ties to the Iranian Writers Association, whose members are frequently pressured by the authorities, and due to his visitation of graves of victims of political assassinations.
He had been imprisoned along with two fellow Iranian Writers Association board members, Reza Khandan Mahabadi and Keyvan Bajan, since September 2020.
The open expression advocacy group PEN America in October jointly awarded the three writers the 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.
Abtin's imprisonment amid the coronavirus pandemic was harshly criticized by rights watchdogs.
Reporters Without Borders in a January 8 tweet said that Abtin had been denied proper medical care and said it "blames the high regime's authorities for his death."
- By RFE/RL
Serbian Tennis Star Djokovic Challenges Australian Visa Cancellation
Top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic has launched a legal challenge to the Australian government's decision to cancel his visa, saying he contracted COVID-19 last month and thus qualified for a medical exemption to the country's vaccination requirements.
The Serbian star's legal team filed a 35-page document on January 8 stating his case that the decision to cancel his visa should be reversed, potentially freeing him up to defend his Australian Open title later this month.
The challenge, which includes a certified document showing Djokovic, an outspoken critic of vaccination against COVID-19, tested positive for the coronavirus on December 16 and was free of symptoms by December 30, is expected to be heard in an Australian court on January 10, one week before the start of the tournament.
The filing also shows Djokovic said he received a letter from Tennis Australia's chief medical officer stating he had a medical exemption from vaccination as a result of him contracting COVID-19.
A Facebook post by the Belgrade tennis association showed Djokovic presenting trophies and awards during a youth tennis awards ceremony in the Serbian capital on December 17, a day after he says he tested positive. Djokovic is shown posing with Serbian tennis officials and around 20 youths, with none of them wearing masks. On December 16, the date of his positive test, Djokovic attended a gathering for Serbia's postal service, which was launching a series of stamps honoring him.
Djokovic's case continues to cause controversy ahead of the new year's first Grand Slam tennis event.
The world No. 1 has been forced to await the court hearing in detention at a Melbourne immigration center, causing an outcry in his home country.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on January 8 said the government stood ready to provide all necessary guarantees to allow Djokovic to be granted permission to enter Australia.
"He's staying in Park Hotel until the final decision is made," Brnabic told Serbian media.
"We've managed to make sure gluten-free food is delivered to him, as well as exercising tools, a laptop, and a SIM card so that he is able to be in contact with his family."
Members of Djokovic's family held a rally of support for the third consecutive day in front of the Serbian parliament building in Belgrade.
Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, said he was "disgusted" at the way his son was being treated.
"It's appalling what Novak has been going through," he told about 300 protesters.
"The worldwide support he is getting is worth more than dozens of grand slams,” he said. “They can't call this tournament of theirs an Open anymore when it's closed."
Djokovic, 34, initially received an exemption from local Australian officials despite tight restrictions on foreigners' entry amid a spike in infections.
Tennis Australia says his exception “was granted following a rigorous review process."
The Australian government has released a letter showing it wrote the tennis organizing body in November saying that prior infection with COVID-19 was not necessarily grounds for exemption in Australia.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has said that a third vaccination exemption granted in connection with the Australian Open is being investigated.
Another player whose visa was canceled despite receiving a vaccination exemption has left the country. Czech women's doubles specialist Renata Voracova decided not to challenge the decision and left Australia on January 8, the Czech Foreign Ministry said.
With reporting by AP, AFP, Metro, and Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Kazakh Authorities Say Nearly 6,000 Detained In 'Anti-Terrorism' Sweep
NUR-SULTAN -- Kazakh authorities said on January 9 that they have detained nearly 6,000 people in security operations around Kazakhstan to quell the worst violence the country has seen in its 30 years of independence.
Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry said at least 5,969 people had been detained so far. He said 133 of them were being held on suspicion of committing “serious crimes.”
The news website Vlast.kz reported that at least 164 people were confirmed dead since unrest broke out on January 5.
According to Vlast.kz, 103 of the deaths occurred in the country’s largest city, Almaty.
Internet and phone connections have been problematic in Kazakhstan since the state-run KazakhTelecom blocked services amid angry nationwide protests on January 5, making independent confirmation of casualty figures difficult.
Kazakh media on January 9 carried comments from Aidos Ukibay, the spokesman for former president Nursultan Nazarbaev, who said Nazarbaev made the decision to step down from his powerful post as secretary of the country’s security council on January 5.
Ukibay said Nazarbaev did so because he “was well aware that riots and terror demanded a prompt, tough and uncompromising response from the country's leadership.”
Ukibay said Nazarbaev “has always supported efforts to protect the people, the country, and the future of the nation.”
Nazarbaev has not been seen in public since December 28 when he visited Russia. But Ukibay said on his Twitter account on January 8 that Nazarbaev was in the capital Nur-Sultan and was calling on Kazakhstan's people to rally around President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev.
On January 5, Nazarbaev was widely reported to have been sacked by Kazakh President Toqaev along with the head of the country’s National Security Committee, longtime Nazarbaev ally Karim Masimov.
Kazakh authorities announced on January 8 that Masimov was under arrest and faces charges of treason.
Toqaev said on January 9 he would announce personnel changes in the government on January 11. He didn't elaborate.
Order has been restored in most of Kazakhstan, though the country’s Khabat-24 television channel reported on January 9 that there had been another outbreak of fighting between security forces and protesters in Almaty overnight.
Small groups of protesters also were continuing to demonstrate on January 9 in the western cities of Zhanaozen and Aqtau.
The protests started in those cities on January 2 in response to sharp increases in fuel prices. As emonstrations quickly spread throughout the country, they turned into protests against the failure of authorities to make good on promises of economic and political reforms.
Authorities have appealed to people to stay off the streets while they continue a security operation against what President Toqaev has called “foreign-trained terrorists."
Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry and head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security Kamchybek Tashiev have called on Kazakh authorities to explain why one their citizens was shown on Kazakh television confessing to being a foreign terrorist.
The television station Qazqstan Ulttyq Telearnasy showed Vikram Ruzakhunov, whose face bore the marks of a recent beating, confessing that traveled to Kazakhstan to join the protests there after receiving a phone call on January 1 from someone promising to pay him 90,000 tenge (about $200) if he did so.
The Kazakh television station described Ruzakhunov as “unemployed.”
But RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports that Ruzakhunov is, in fact, a popular jazz pianist who regularly travels to Almaty for concerts.
Ruzakhunov's relatives told RFE/RL that he had bought his plane ticket to Almaty on December 16 in order to fly into the city on January 2 and attend a concert.
On the night of January 8 police detained civil activists Aibek Sabitov, Zhanmurat Ashtayev, Nurlan Syzdyk, Lyazzat Dosmagambetova at their homes in Shymkent, according to their relatives and other activists.
Ashtayev's wife, Moldir Nuranova,says dozens of armed men dressed in black and wearing masks had stormed into their home in the middle of the night.
Ashtayev's relatives said they tried to protect him. But they said Ashtayev left voluntarily after a gun was put to the head of his brother.
They also said Ashtayev was beaten by police.
Toqaev's office says he spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on January 9, "noting that the situation in the country is stabilizing."
Toqaev also said that "the focus of terrorist attacks remains" and "therefore, the fight against terrorism will continue in a serious manner."
Toqaev requested help from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as the protests spread on January 5.
The CSTO quickly sent more than 3,000 troops to Kazakhstan, mainly Russian soldiers, but also small forces from CSTO member states Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.
RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports that those troops are now guarding key infrastructure facilities, including Almaty's airport, several government buildings in Almaty, and the Soviet-era Baikonur cosmodrome that Russia continues to use for its rocket launches.
With reporting by RFE/RL Kazakh Service correspondents in Nur-Sultan and RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service correspondents in Bishkek
- By RFE/RL
U.S. Has Questions About Kazakhstan’s Request For CSTO Troops, Blinken Says
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States has questions about Kazakhstan’s request for assistance from a Russia-led security organization to help quell protests that have left dozens of people dead in the Central Asian country.
The top U.S. diplomat said the Kazakh authorities “certainly have the capacity to deal appropriately with protests” in a way that respects the rights of protesters while maintaining law and order.
“So it's not clear why they feel the need for any outside assistance, so we're trying to learn more about it,” Blinken said January 7 during a press conference at the State Department.
Kazakhstan earlier this week requested help from the six-member Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) made up of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia amid nationwide protests sparked by higher energy costs.
Russia has sent a few thousand troops to Kazakhstan under the auspices of the CSTO.
“I think one lesson in recent history is that once Russians are in your house, it's sometimes very difficult to get them to leave,” Blinken said.
Blinken’s comments came after President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev issued a stark warning to protesters that he has given security personnel a green light to “shoot to kill” even as the country’s police forces appeared to be in control of most cities in Kazakhstan.
Dozens were killed in the unprecedented anti-government demonstrations over a fuel price hike before law enforcement took control of the situation. It was the worst violence in the Central Asian state's 30 years of independence.
The Interior Ministry said Republican Square in Almaty, one of the main flashpoints of violence, had been cleared “of criminal groups.” RFE/RL journalists said they saw three bodies in different locations around the square as they surveyed it.
Correspondents in Shymkent said earlier on January 7 that the situation was calm, with an unknown number of people dead or injured.
The dead included 18 security officers killed in the clashes, the Interior Ministry said. The number of people detained reached 3,811, the ministry said, according to state television channel Khabar 24.
Toqaev said early on January 7 that order had "basically" been restored in the country, but later followed up those comments in a televised state address that “bandits” -- a word officials have used repeatedly to describe protesters who have threatened his authoritarian government’s survival -- would be dealt with severely.
"I have given the order to law enforcement agencies and the army to shoot to kill without warning," Toqaev said in the address while rejecting international calls for dialogue.
The protests erupted in the western region of Mangystau on January 2 over the doubling in the price of subsidized liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) before spreading and morphing into calls for political reform in the tightly controlled country.
Mobs stormed government buildings, setting some of them on fire, looted businesses, and torched and overturned cars as they called for reforms after decades of stifling rule in the oil-rich former Soviet republic.
In response, Toqaev declared a nationwide state of emergency until January 19, with curfews, restrictions on movements, and bans on mass gatherings.
Blinken said the U.S. hopes the government can quickly address the problems, which he said were "fundamentally economic and political in nature."
He said the United States values its relationship with Kazakhstan in calling for a "rights-respecting resolution" to the crisis.
The first Russian paratroopers arrived on January 5 after Toqaev asked the CSTO to help "stabilize” the situation. They were followed by troops from CSTO member Belarus on January 6. More Russian troops were expected to arrive on January 7 alongside units from Armenia and Tajikistan, which approved sending 200 troops to its neighbor. Kyrgyzstan also approved on January 7 sending 150 troops and military equipment to Kazakhstan.
The speed at which CSTO arrived on the scene in Kazakhstan was seen by some analysts as another sign of the Kremlin's strategy to act quickly to safeguard its influence in the former Soviet Union.
Mukhtar Ablyazov, the fugitive former head of Kazakhstan's BTA Bank and outspoken critic of the government, told Reuters on January 7 that claims by Toqaev and officials in Moscow that “foreign-trained terrorists” were behind the protests were an attempt to distract people from the fact that the unrest is a result of internal problems caused by the government.
He added that Kazakhstan is now the focus of a geopolitical play, with Russian President Vladimir Putin looking to use the situation to “methodically impose his program: the re-creation of a structure like the Soviet Union."
Ablyazov is the leader of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement, which for months has openly called on Kazakhs to rally against the government. The authorities labeled the DVK "extremist" and banned it in March 2018.
Ablyazov managed BTA when it was the country's largest private bank, but he later had a falling out with government officials. He accused former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev and many of Nazarbaev's family members of being involved in large-scale corruption and embezzlement and fled to London in 2009. The bank was subsequently nationalized by the Kazakh government.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, AFP, AP, dpa, and Reuters
- By RFE/RL
Blinken Blasts Kremlin For Instigating Crisis Over Ukraine But Says Diplomatic Solution 'Still Possible'
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a diplomatic solution to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine is “still possible” but warned that the West is ready to “respond forcefully” if that fails.
Speaking at the State Department in Washington on January 7 ahead of his meetings with allies and Russian officials to address the buildup and European security in general, Blinken blasted the Kremlin, accusing it of instigating the crisis along Ukraine’s border in an attempt to carve out a sphere of influence.
Blinken said the West is going into the talks “committed to diplomacy” but will not compromise on key principles, such as NATO’s open-door policy and the right of Ukraine to join the alliance.
Russia massed about 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and in Crimea in the late autumn before presenting the United States and NATO with a list of demands for security guarantees, including an end to the alliance’s eastward expansion.
The United States has said the buildup could be a prelude to another invasion of Ukraine, something the Kremlin has denied.
Blinken said Russia is trying to turn three sets of talks next week into a debate about NATO but that Ukraine will be “front and center on the agenda...because that's what precipitated this crisis.”
U.S. officials will meet with their Russian counterparts on January 10 in Geneva followed by a NATO-Russia Council meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on January 12. A meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- which includes the United States, Ukraine, and Russia -- will be held in Vienna on January 13.
Blinken used his address at the State Department to lay out what the United States sees as the root cause of the crisis, highlight Russian "malign" activities that have destabilized Europe, and counter various Russian interpretations of events.
Blinken dismissed Russian allegations that Ukraine was to blame for the current crisis as “absurd” and more “gaslighting.”
The top U.S. diplomat said the root cause of the crisis lies in Russia’s inability to accept Ukraine’s decision to pursue a democratic path.
He listed a long series of Russian aggressions against the country -- including territorial annexation, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, energy strangulation -- ever since Ukrainian citizens ousted Kremlin-leaning President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.
Blinken also rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that the West broke an agreement with the Soviet Union not to expand NATO and that the alliance is a threat to Russia.
He said no such agreement was ever reached between the West and Moscow and said that NATO had reduced the size of its forces following the end of the Cold War until Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014.
Blinken did not exclude that Russia's "nonstarter" demands could be a ruse to justify military action against Ukraine, saying it’s “part of [the Kremlin’s] playbook.”
He also said Russia could try to instigate an incident and then use it as a justification to attack Ukraine, “hoping that by the time the world realizes the ruse, it'll be too late.”
He said another attack against Ukraine likely will only work counter to Putin’s stated goals as NATO would be forced to bolster its presence on the continent.
However, Blinken held out hope the West and Russia could make progress on some issues, including increasing transparency, instituting new risk reduction measures, and on arms control.
He said Russia must address the concerns of the West about its malign actions across the continent.
“We go into [these meetings] committed to diplomacy, committed to dialogue, but equally committed to stand up for the principles that Russia is putting at risk,” he said.
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- Stuart Greer
'They Beat Us So We Don't Come Back': Afghan Refugees Face Deportation From Iran
Afghan refugees in Iran say they are facing hunger, abuse, and deportation. The flood of Afghans seeking refuge in Iran and other countries increased after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. RFE/RL's Radio Farda spoke to several Afghans struggling to survive in Iran who are desperate to stay in the country despite the hardships.
In Shock Verdict, Bulgarian Journalists Convicted Of Defamation, Fined
Two journalists in Bulgaria and a website have been convicted of defamation and ordered to pay the equivalent of some $35,000 for articles published in 2018 in what is being described as an unprecedented verdict, RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service reports.
The Sofia City Court (SCC) found that Boris Mitov, now a journalist for RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service, and Stoyana Georgieva had caused physical and mental anguish to Svetlin Mihailov, a former chairman of the SCC, and ordered them and the website that published the articles four years ago to pay him damages amounting to 60,000 Bulgarian lev ($34,659).
In 2018, Mitov was covering for the news website Mediapool Mihailov’s bid to become head of the SCC, Bulgaria’s largest district court. At the time, Georgieva was the editor in chief of Mediapool.
Four of those articles were examined by the court, and Judge Daniela Popova ruled on December 21 that they contained “defamatory allegations against [Mihailov].”
Lawyers for Mitov and Georgieva argued that the articles in question contained information about Mihailov, including questions about his sizable wealth and property, that had appeared at the time and since then in other publications.
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly called the court’s decision “outrageous” and said it was meant to intimidate some of Bulgaria’s finest investigative journalists for reporting publicly known facts.
“The public has a right to accountability, and intimidation tactics like this will not keep RFE/RL from informing its audience about issues of public interest,” Fly said in a statement.
In her ruling, Popova did not specify exactly what extracts from the articles in question she found “indecent, vulgar, and cynical.”
Popova ordered the two journalists and Mediapool to each pay Mihailov 20,000 lev ($11,553).
Lawyers for the two journalists and Mediapool have appealed the ruling, although no date has been set yet for that hearing.
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