Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan: will the troubled border become calmer?
The September-December 2023 period witnesses significant progress in the harmonization of the most territorially disputed border in Central Asia, namely the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Of the nearly 1,000 kilometers of the line separating the two republics, almost 400 kilometers remained uncoordinated for many years Now the parties are announcing deadlines for the completion of all work designed to exhaust the conflict potential of the problem. Work on harmonizing the Tajik-Kyrgyz border intensified in October 2023 – almost 75 kilometers of the border…
New Emir, new Kuwait!
The new Emir of Kuwait, Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, was sworn in on 20 December 2023, following the death of his older brother Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on 16 December. Sheikh Nawaf was the sixteenth Emir and ruled for just three years from his accession to the throne in September 2020. The late monarch took the throne at the venerable age of 84. At that time, he was already suffering from serious heart disease and internal organ damage. Perhaps for this reason, Sheikh Nawaf’s reign was characterised by relative calm. The past emir was focused solely on avoiding…
Turkey launches new local war against PKK in Iraq
The Kurdish issue remains a key threat to Turkey’s internal and external security. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), banned and recognised as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, somehow continues its actions against Turkish forces in northern Syria and Iraq, which is used by Ankara to conduct local military operations in neighbouring countries to suppress the resistance of Kurdish forces and destroy their military facilities. As it became known from mass media, on 22 and 23 December this year, 12 Turkish servicemen were killed as a result of attacks of PKK militants on a Turkish…
Russia-Egypt: Peaceful Atom Unites
The African continent is one of the fastest growing energy markets in the world, driven by the economic and demographic potential of countries on the continent. Such a leap poses new challenges for African countries. The energy industry remains one of the main challenges. As a major player in the market, Russia is the partner of choice for many countries in the nuclear energy field…
The Russian gas hub project in Turkey remains on the agenda for the time being
For more than a year (since autumn 2022) Russia, highly appreciating Turkey’s reliability as a trading partner, has proposed to form a gas hub on Turkish territory for subsequent sales of blue fuel to the world markets. The essence of this project is that after the Nord Stream-1 and Nord Stream-2 pipelines are put out of operation due to sabotage actions of Western special services, Russian gas flows from the north-west direction could go to the south. At the same time, Turkey plans to create an electronic platform for price coordination based on the world market conditions…
Rosatom and Monatom: Prospects of Creating a New Type of NPP in Mongolia
Within the framework of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held in Dubai, the Russian company Rosatom held a Small Modular Reactors Day. The CEO of Monatom, a Mongolian state-owned company engaged in the promising development of a new industry for Mongolia, took a very active part in the event. During the SMR day, Rosatom representatives familiarized him with the concept of a low-capacity nuclear power plant concept for Mongolia. Following the event, the parties signed a memorandum on the construction…
“We’re all living in America”
The term “Americanization” was first coined in Germany back in the 19th century, when American goods began to actively penetrate the German market. The German economy’s dependence on the American one goes back to the recent past, and, in particular, to the post-war years, when the American Marshall Plan allowed Western Germany to completely restore its economy, but of course not for free. It was beneficial for the United States to consolidate the capitalist order in the enfeebled country and gain full influence over it, including economic and political one. However, the United States survived both world wars relatively unscathed with minimal damage…
The Paradox of COP 28
Recently, the 28th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Climate Conference was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with more than70,000 delegates from nearly 200 countries in attendance. Despite its significant scale and global representation, concerns regarding the effectiveness of COP conferences in addressing climate change persist. COP conferences have been held annually since 1995, with the overarching goal of preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system…
Kazakhstan at the World Climate Summit: How Ecology can be Profitable
On December 1, 2023, Dubai hosted the World Climate Summit, which was attended by more than two thousand high-ranking representatives of business, science, and, of course, countries from all the continents of the globe. The following climate and environmental issues were proposed for the summit: transition to carbon neutrality in all sectors of industry and agriculture, accelerating the creation of zero-pollution transport systems, climate financing, transition to clean (green) energy…
Hydropower of Tajikistan – rely on historical partners and respect the interests of neighbors
Tajikistan is one of the most mountainous countries in Central Asia and the world, which makes hydropower one of the country’s most important industries. The Panj, the Vakhsh, the Kofarnihon, and the Zarafshon are the republic’s water and energy resources, which were projected to be 527 billion KWh per year (the eighth indication in the world), with the republic developing only 2%. The complete utilization of all hydro resources in energy needs will theoretically be enough to power all of Central Asia with electricity three…
Uzbekistan’s Oil Imports: How the Price Cap Hurts West’s Potential Partners and Helps Russia’s Partners.
Most people who follow the twists and turns in global politics are aware of the imposition of the so-called “price cap” on Russian oil imports following last year’s meeting of G7 Finance Ministers. Although this initiative can hardly be called favorable for Russia, some cases illustrate its dubious usefulness for the West, especially from a political standpoint. In particular, such a paradox can be observed when studying Uzbekistan’s experience of purchasing oil and petroleum products…
Europe is freezing and on the brink of a severe economic crisis
According to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), “the prospect of the EU receiving more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Egypt in the short and medium term looks unachievable due to tight gas balances and reduced imports form Israel.” Or, to put it in less academic terms, we can say that this is clearly what Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, namely that Europe, which has followed the US line and refused to buy cheap Russian gas, has caused itself and its people lasting economic, financial and political harm. Last year, for example, Egypt shipped 80 percent…