Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov returned from Moscow recently and fell into a familiar habit – dismissing officials who, he claimed, were found to be engaging in corrupt practices.
<p>26 January 2006 -- Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has sacked officials for what he said were great shortcomings.</p>
Recent meetings between Russian, Uzbek, and Turkmen negotiators reinforced a point: Central Asia's gas reserves are poised to play a decisive role not only in the region's relations with Russia, but in Eurasian geopolitics as well.
EES leaders at Konstantinovsky Palace outside St. Petersburg on 25 January (epa) 25 January 2006 -- Uzbekistan today became the sixth member of the Eurasian Economic Community (EES) at a summit in St. Petersburg of that Russian-led grouping.
Presidents Niyazov (left) and Putin (right) met at the Kremlin today (AFP) 23 January 2006 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov have vowed to expand cooperation in the energy sector.
Niyazov and Putin in Moscow on 23 January (AFP) 23 January 2006 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov have vowed to expand cooperation in the energy sector.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Turkmen counterpart Saparmurat Niyazov at the Kremlin today for talks that focused largely on natural gas. Niyazov, who arrived Sunday on a rare two-day trip outside his country, was expected to push for a hike in the price of Turkmen gas exports to Russia. Moscow, in turn, was eager to secure a large share of Turkmenistan's relatively cheap and increasingly coveted gas.
23 January 2006 -- Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow that opens today.
(RFE/RL) 22 January 2006 -- A Turkmen-operated helicopter used for earthquake relief by the International Committee of the Red Cross has gone missing in Pakistan.
Turkmenistan's reclusive president is in Moscow for talks likely to focus on tying up the loose ends of Russia's gas deal with Ukraine -- and on persuading Russia to pay more for Turkmen gas.
The bodies of victims of the violence in Andijon (file photo) (AFP) A leading rights monitor criticizes the United States for its response to a "disastrous" year for human rights in Uzbekistan. The year's only bright spot of the year in Central Asia, it says, was Kyrgyzstan's willingness to accept refugees from the Uzbek government's crackdown in Andijon.
Central Asia's leaders have been called many things: strongmen, despots, enemies of the press, human rights abusers. But every now and then, they unclench their iron fists, take up a pen, and write poems and books for their countrymen.
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