ISSUE #34
10/10/2011
On 6 October 2011, the Ukrainian parliament adopted the first reading of a presidential draft law on decriminalizing economic offences. Under the draft law, perpetrators of economic offences will no longer bear criminal responsibility but instead will face administrative sanctions such as fines. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 23.10.2011  |  External Relations
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ISSUE #33
10/03/2011
On 11 October 2011 a Kiev district court will start to read the verdict regarding the leader of the opposition Fatherland party and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko. A correspondent of the Ukrainian news and analysis website Lb.ua reported that that court debates in Tymoshenko's case were completed on 30 September 2011. It was expected that Tymoshenko would deliver a concluding speech in the court on the same day. However, the former prime minister requested her address to be rescheduled for 2 October 2011. She explained her demand by the fact that prior to her speech, the prosecutor's office and civil plaintiff had unveiled fresh “aspects that totally differ from the indictment.” READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 22.10.2011  |  External Relations
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Andrei Ivanovich Denisov, likes to see the world in a dialectical way, perceiving the linkage of its social and political developments. According to him, the present historical period, which began after the outbreak of the recent global crisis in 2009, is a time of upheavals and subsequent instability. Consequently, the role of diplomacy now is to minimize the possible negative impact of political instability taking place at the global level and to look for less conflict-ridden international relations.
READ MORE

• Andrej Kreutz  |  Published on EGF: 17.10.2011  |  External Relations
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Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during September 2011
Key developments:

• Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s September is filled with tumultuous foreign policy issues, coalescing disputes with Israel, Cyprus and the world’s stance towards Somalia in his statement to the UN General Assembly.
• The prime minister visited Libya, Egypt and Tunisia in a quick tour of countries touched by the Arab Spring while continuing his condemnation of Syrian repression of civilians and rebuffing Iranian and Russian anger at Ankara’s participation in NATO’s missile shield.
• Kurdish-related violence seizes the country through terrorist attacks and military operations between PKK fighters and the Turkish military. BDP Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party parliamentary deputies end their boycott of the parliament in order to end the hostilities.
• The European Commission instigates raids on Gazprom subsidiaries on suspected competition violations, with many calling it a political move to garner support for Nabucco and undermine South Stream and Nord Stream.
• Energy major BP announces a planned pipeline from the Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan traversing Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 12.10.2011  |  Energy
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Issue 8: August-September 2011

A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
Key points:

• Gazprom partners raided by European Commission Anti-trust Inspectors
• The dispute between Moscow and Kiev continues. Ukraine knows that it has a weak bargaining position and is in no hurry to make concessions to Russia
• Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched the first string of Nord Stream, meaning Ukraine is now in danger of losing its status as the main transit country for Russia’s European gas exports
• Gazprom has signed roadmap with South Korea's Kogas for the construction of a pipeline from Vladivostok to South Korea
• Gazprom may suspend its project in Nigeria because of the lack of a law governing the oil and gas industry, although experts say Gazprom may have lost interest in this project because of potential difficulties in selling Nigerian gas
• Gazprom is looking to acquire two state-owned oil and gas companies in Kyrgyzstan
• The Gazprom affiliate Vemex has acquired a 51% stake in RSP Energy, marking the first time a Gazprom Group company will sell gas and electricity to Czech households
• Gazprom has signed a legally-binding agreement with its European partners on the implementation of the South Stream project, but has attracted criticism from the EU. According to Russian sources, EU Energy Commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, views South Stream as an attempt by Moscow to derail the ‘Southern Corridor’ gas supply diversification concept
• In line with new oil production projects in the region, Gazprom Neft is considering the construction of a new oil refinery near Murmansk
• Gazprom expects a doubling of the Mineral Extraction Tax by 2013.

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 12.10.2011  |  Energy
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by Mehmet Ogutcu,
Expert in global energy security matters

The Turkish leadership has committed itself to a tough position on Israel, Cyprus and Syria, and any backtracking or sign of weakness will seriously affect its credibility at home, with regional partners, the “Arab Street” and other major global powers, as well as high stakes involved in the Eastern Mediterranean. This represents a policy of principle, consistent with the values and goals the government pursues, but is also a risky one, which if not well managed may lead to some undesirable hot confrontation. The power comes with responsibility if it will be effectively harnessed.

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 05.10.2011  |  Security
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In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” Algeria causes concerns as its less than democratic past faces the region’s democratic revolutions. Some eight months after the start of the unexpected uprisings in the region, however, Algeria remains relatively stable. READ MORE

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 01.10.2011  |  Security
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ISSUE #32
09/26/2011
The lawyers defending former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko have submitted a request for an immediate resumption of the trial. “Today, the defense is requesting an immediate resumption of the trial so the court can consider a petition to change the preventive measure,” Tymoshenko's lawyer Oleksandr Plakhotnyuk stated on 21 September 2011. First and foremost, this relates to the former prime minister's state of health, he added. READ MORE

• Gorshenin Weekly  |  Published on EGF: 29.09.2011  |  External Relations
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by Marat Terterov,
EGF Director

When a game breaking event takes place in the Middle East once each decade

There is a certain understanding amongst Middle East politics experts that a game breaking event of cataclysmic proportions hits the region once every ten years or so. September of this year will mark the 10^th anniversary of the unimaginable acts of terrorism which were perpetrated in New York in September 2001 by Arab suicide bombers.  These acts of violence catapulted America’s ‘War on Terror’ to the centre of Washington’s foreign policy agenda, opening the way for renewed civil war in Afghanistan and the US-led invasion of Iraq of 2003. READ MORE

• Marat Terterov  |  Published on EGF: 15.09.2011  |  Security
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Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during August 2011
Key developments:

• Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan visits Mogadishu on a famine aid mission, the first visit by a non-African head of state in nearly 20 years. The trip is a huge boost to Turkey’s international image.
  
• Violence in the south-east of the country continues, leading to Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) cross-border raids into Iraq.
  
• Following criticism from the US Secretary of State, the justice ministry contradicts the number of journalists said to be held by Turkish authorities.
  
• Ankara continues to condemn the Syrian regime despite not calling for the resignation of President Bashar al- Assad. The country wins a seat at the Paris meeting of the new Libyan government following the apparent collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
  
• Azerbaijan and Turkey continue to negotiate a gas transit agreement, while Turkey’s reliance on foreign energy imports has reportedly increased 5 % since the AKP came to power.
  

• EGF Editorial  |  Published on EGF: 15.09.2011  |  Energy
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