Eurasia News Digest (16-31 August, 2024)

Russia & Central Asia

Kazakhstan recognises Taliban diplomat as Afghan Embassy Chargé d'Affaires

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially recognised Mohammad Rahman Rahmani, a Taliban diplomat, as the Chargé d'Affaires of the Afghan Embassy in the country. This move is part of ongoing efforts to develop and formalize relations between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan under the current Afghan administration. Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Alibek Bakayev, held a meeting with Rahmani in Astana, according to the ministry’s statement. The meeting focused on the importance of Afghanistan’s engagement with regional countries to support its economic revival and stability. The ministry’s communication did not refer to the Taliban's self-designation as the "Islamic Emirate." Click here to read... [2]

Afghanistan’s Taliban sign $2.5B in trade, investment deals with Uzbekistan

The Taliban government in Afghanistan announced Saturday that it had finalized trade and investment deals worth $2.5 billion with the Prime Minister of neighbouring Uzbekistan during his historic visit to Kabul. Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and his delegation arrived in the Afghan capital on the highest-level visit by a foreign leader to the country since the Islamist Taliban regained control three years ago. Aripov was accompanied by Laziz Kudratov, the minister of investment, industry, and trade, among other senior officials. Aripov and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the deputy Taliban prime minister for economic affairs, oversaw the signing of “35 MoUs (memorandums of understanding) valued at $2.5 billion.” The ceremony occurred after the two leaders inaugurated an exhibition of Uzbek products in Kabul. Click here to read... [3]

Kazakhstan, Türkiye Working on New Military Transport Deal

Kazakhstan and Türkiye are working on a bilateral agreement to allow the transit of military equipment and personnel through their airspaces. "The signing of the agreement is aimed at creating a legal foundation and determining conditions for the transit of military equipment and staff through the two countries' airspaces," the report said. The agreement contains clauses about the two countries' national security. The document also details information security, noting that "The sides will ensure the protection of information received or provided under this agreement in line with the laws of the countries and the agreement between the Kazakh and Turkish governments on the mutual protection of classified information in the military field signed in September 2018.” Click here to read... [4]

Kyrgyzstan's Mbank suspends money transfers through Russian banks amid expanded international sanctions

MBank, the fourth-largest bank in Kyrgyzstan by assets has suspended all money transfers through Russian banks citing the growing impact of international sanctions against Russia. The decision was officially announced on the bank's website and has significant implications for financial transactions between Kyrgyzstan and Russia. The move by MBank is part of a broader trend among Kyrgyzstan's financial institutions. Several commercial banks in the country have halted money transfer systems from Russia this year as a direct response to the expanding sanctions imposed by Western nations. These sanctions have increasingly targeted Russian financial entities as part of the ongoing international effort to curb Russia's ability to finance its military activities in Ukraine. The suspension of money transfers follows the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announcement on June 12 of a new round of sanctions. Click here to read... [5]

Uzbekneftegaz, Azerbaijan's SOCAR sign agreement on exploration in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan's Uzbekneftegaz and State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) signed heads of agreement for geological exploration at investment blocks in Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Thursday, SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf said on social media. "During the Azerbaijani-Uzbek business forum, organized as part of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's official visit to Uzbekistan, we signed heads of agreement for geological exploration at investment blocks in Uzbekistan with Uzbekneftegaz," Najaf said. Click here to read... [6]

USA reaches an agreement with Uzbekistan on aircraft transferred from Afghanistan

The authorities of Uzbekistan and the United States have agreed on the fate of the aircraft that was transferred by the Afghan military to the territory of Uzbekistan in August 2021. US Ambassador to Tashkent Jonathan Henick told Kun.uz about this. According to Afghan media, before the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, there were 164 combat aircraft, currently – only 81. Afghan Air Force pilots were able to ferry some of the aircraft and helicopters to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In total, 22 military aircraft and 24 military helicopters arrived in Uzbekistan. Among them were the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano, UH-60 Black Hawk, MD-530 and Mi-17 models. Earlier, it became known that the United States will repair six Pilatus PC-12 aircraft in Uzbekistan for $ 64.2 million. This model was among the aircraft that crossed the border of Uzbekistan in August 2021. Click here to read... [7]

Iran & South Caucasus

Meta Takes Down Russian-Linked Network Targeting Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan

Meta, mid-August, announced the removal of a coordinated inauthentic behavior (CIB) network originating from Russia that was targeting Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The network, which was dismantled after an internal investigation, included 76 Facebook accounts, 30 Pages, and 11 Instagram accounts. The operation was reportedly designed to manipulate public opinion in these countries through fictitious news websites and fake social media profiles, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), a Georgian non-profit, reported. Click here to read... [8]

Azerbaijani servicemen participate in the Altyn Kyran – 2024 exercise

According to the joint plan signed between the Defense Ministries of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, the Altyn Kyran – 2024 (Golden Eagle) joint tactical-special exercise is taking place at the Koktal training ground in Zharkent, Kazakhstan. A group of servicemen of the Azerbaijan Army visited Kazakhstan to participate in the exercise. The joint tactical-special exercise will continue until August 24. Click here to read... [9]

Azerbaijan, Russia exchange signed documents

A ceremony took place on August 19 in Baku to exchange the documents signed between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation, with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin in attendance, Trend reports. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin adopted a Joint Declaration of the heads of state. The "Memorandum of Understanding between Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the “Management Company of the Russian Direct Investment Fund” joint-stock company” was exchanged by Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mikayil Jabbarov, and the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev. Click here to read... [10]

Armenia denies firing at Azerbaijani positions

Armenia issued two statements this week, on August 15 and 16, denying that it had fired on Azerbaijani military positions. In both statements, Yerevan reiterated a proposal to establish a joint mechanism with Baku to investigate reports of ceasefire violations on their borders. This round of accusations came a week after Azerbaijan agreed to withdraw its demands for the ‘Zangezur corridor’ — a proposal to establish transit links through southern Armenia — from the peace agreement with Armenia, removing a major roadblock to the signing of a treaty. Click here to read... [11]

Azerbaijan applied to join BRICS

Azerbaijan has officially applied to join BRICS (the name of the organization is derived from the initials of the names of the Republic of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). This was stated by Aykhan Hajizadeh, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. In July of this year, the "Joint Declaration on the establishment of strategic partnership between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the People's Republic of China" was signed. At that time, the Azerbaijani side expressed its desire to join BRICS, and China welcomed it. BRICS was established in 2006. The current members of the organization are Brazil, Russia, India, China, Republic of South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Click here to read... [12]