January 2011

Key Points:
• The Nabucco pipeline received several pieces of good news in January, but there is little sign of any movement towards commencement of construction works. Further, Italy’s ENI has rejected any possible suggestions that Nabucco could merge with Russia’s South Stream.

• Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan, has responded to criticisms that new laws advocating the restrictions of alcohol reflect an infringement on personal freedoms of Turkish citizens.

• The widely discussed “conspiracy” of the Sledgehammer coup plot is once again in the lime light, as prosecutors allege plans by the plotters to bomb two Istanbul mosques.

• Following the release of 5 members of the banned (Turkish) Hizbullah organisation in January, a fiery securitypolitical debate has erupted as to whether there is a link between the AKP government and the outlawed group.

• While Istanbul hosts talks between the P5 +1 and Iran over the latter’s nuclear ambitions, Turkey sits out the meeting. A settlement on Cyprus appears impossible after Turkey and the EU sit out January talks in Geneva, with some critics saying this is the end for Turkey’s own EU accession negotiations.

• A day after Saudi Arabia halted its efforts in support of the formation of a new government in Lebanon, the joint Turkish/Qatari mission followed suit, claiming that the disputing Lebanese factions indicated reservations with external proposals to help broker a deal. READ MORE

• January 27, 2011

The European Union is set to receive gas from the Caspian region within ’two to three years’ after a recent visit to Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan produced significant supply pledges, the bloc’s top energy official said Tuesday, Monsters and Critics reported.

• January 26, 2011

A day after an airport suicide bombing that investigators suspect was organized by Islamic militants, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin on Tuesday vowed retribution. President Dmitri A. Medvedev lashed out at low-ranking subordinates at the airport for failing to stop the attack. A number of initiatives were announced to prevent future terrorist acts.

• January 26, 2011

The United States said it was ending export restrictions for India's defense and space industries, eyeing trade with a nation shunned for a decade over its nuclear weapons program.

• January 26, 2011

Belarus and Russia have agreed to cooperate in the construction of a Belarusian nuclear power plant, the head of Russia's nuclear agency, Rosatom, said

• January 26, 2011

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is supporting the expansion of non-banking services in the Kyrgyz Republic with a US$ 3 million loan equivalent to Microfinance Company Kompanion Financial Group for on-lending to micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

• January 25, 2011

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borissov agreed Monday to further bolster economic relations between their countries, with Tokyo calling for improved investment climate in the East European country and Bulgaria seeking the introduction of Japanese technology.

• January 25, 2011

What should countries do with their nuclear waste? This question has been tormenting scientists and politicians since the early days of nuclear energy. Proposals have ranged from storing radioactive material in polar ice sheets, burying it in the ocean floor, or even blasting it into space.

• January 25, 2011