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{"id":7027,"date":"2021-03-22T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T07:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lossi36.com\/?p=7027"},"modified":"2021-05-29T18:00:27","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T18:00:27","slug":"lossi-36-weekly-9-news-highlights-from-central-europe-to-central-asia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lossi36.com\/2021\/03\/22\/lossi-36-weekly-9-news-highlights-from-central-europe-to-central-asia\/","title":{"rendered":"Lossi 36 Weekly #10: news highlights from Central Europe to Central Asia"},"content":{"rendered":"This edition of Lossi 36 Weekly was originally sent by email on 22 March 2021. Subscribe to Lossi 36 Weekly here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Russia recalls ambassador to US amid diplomatic spat: <\/strong>The Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, was\u00a0summoned back<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to Moscow late last Wednesday, 13 March, for consultations following the U.S. President Joe Biden\u2019s\u00a0interview<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>to ABC News\u2019 George Stephanopoulos. In this interview, as well as discussing domestic issues, Joe Biden\u00a0named<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, \u201ca killer\u201d and that he would \u201cpay a price\u201d for interfering in U.S. elections. These accusations are related to a newly declassified intelligence report\u00a0released<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on Tuesday concluding that Vladimir Putin did authorise \u201cinfluence operations\u201d to support Donald Trump\u2019s bid for re-election and damage Joe Biden\u2019s reputation in the 2020 presidential campaign. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov\u00a0told<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0reporters on Thursday that “there hasn’t been anything like this in history\u201d and the relationship between two countries is “very bad.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova\u00a0stated<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>that \u201cthat there is no evidence of Russian government agencies\u2019 interference in US domestic affairs\u201d. After Antonov\u2019s return to Russia, Vladimir Putin\u00a0commented<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>on the issue himself,\u00a0recalling<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0a Russian school playground rhyme, which literally translates as “whoever calls people those names is called those names themselves”, and equates in English to “it takes one to know one”. Meanwhile, the US\u00a0is considering<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0new sanctions on Russia in response to Alexei Navalny\u2019s detention, election interference, and the SolarWinds hack.<\/p>\n Elections held in Niksic under strong Serbian influence campaign.<\/strong>\u00a0On 14 March, the municipality of Niksic in Montenegro held elections for local assembly influenced by an extensive media campaign from Serbia. The previous ruling coalition won the most seats but because the electoral system requires a majority of 21 mandates, the coalitions that took second and third place, including the nominally pro-Serb Democratic Front and Socialist People\u2019s Party, negotiated to take over the leading position. In the aftermath of the elections, the monitoring process uncovered that more than\u00a0961 registered<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0voters are also registered in the voter list of the Republic of Serbia, which is a violation of the law and direct interference in the election process. During the campaign,\u00a0over 4,730 texts<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0were found to have been published in Serbian media regarding the elections in Montenegro, as well as numerous talk shows in Serbia which many analysts believe to be connected to the coalition\u2013 For Future of Niksic, led by the party of Serb nationals.<\/p>\n Montenegro to embark on contested first-ever offshore drilling operation.<\/strong>\u00a0The winning Russo-Italian consortium formed by Eni and Novatek is about to start the very first offshore oil and gas drilling exploration in Montenegrin waters. Since Monday last week, the\u00a0jack-up drilling rig Topaz Driller<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and its crew has sailed off and now stands ready to start drilling 28 km from the shore at a planned depth of 6,500 meters. NGOs such as Green Home, Eko Korijen and Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby Association have however expressed their\u00a0serious concerns<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0about the damages pertaining to tourism, fishery and biodiversity. A petition was launched to cancel drilling operations and preserve the shoreline.<\/p>\n EU special envoy continues to mediate efforts to resolve Georgia\u2019s political crisis.<\/strong>\u00a0After the most recent political crisis in Georgia, the European Union has stepped up efforts to mediate the dialogue between the government and the opposition. The Swedish diplomat Christian Danielson,\u00a0mandated<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by European Council President Charles Michel,\u00a0arrived<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>in Tbilisi on March 12 to establish political dialogue between the government and the opposition and help resolve the current political tension in Georgia. He initially met separately with the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition, before\u00a0bringing<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>them together at the same table at the EU Delegation office on March 17th. Despite progress, the negotiations did not reach any final agreement and talks will be\u00a0continued<\/a><\/strong>, with Danielsson\u00a0extending<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>his visit to Georgia.<\/p>\n Armenia to hold snap parliamentary elections on 20 June.\u00a0<\/strong>The announcement of the agreement to hold early parliamentary elections was\u00a0released<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by both PM Nikol Pashinyan as well as by opposition forces. The agreement\u00a0follows<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0a month-long political battle between the current government and the parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition parties that was sparked by the loss of the recent war in Nagorno Karabakh and the subsequent trilateral agreement between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. It is hoped that snap parliamentary elections will lead to an end to the current political stalemate in Armenia. A\u00a0poll<\/a><\/strong>, recently published by the US-based International Republican Institute, suggests that Pashinyan\u2019s Civil Contract Party is still by far the most popular party in Armenia with all other parties not even reaching 4 per cent. However, more than 40 per cent do not favour any party in Armenia.<\/p>\n Lithuania’s pursuit of stronger ties with Taiwan sparks Beijing\u2019s frustration<\/strong>. Last week, a group of Lithuanian public figures\u00a0announced<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>the founding of the Lithuania-Taiwan forum, which aims to deepen ties between Vilnius and Taipei. Several high-profile public officials – university lecturers, a Lithuanian MEP, cabinet ministers, vice ministers, and a mayor of a provincial town- are among the forum\u2019s members, while former Minister of Education Steponavi\u010dius was elected as the forum\u2019s chair. Steponavi\u010dius stated that the Forum \u201chas pooled leaders from different areas who want to see value-based decisions in international politics and understand the challenges Taiwan is facing.\u201d The Lithuanian move comes shortly after Lithuania\u2019s decision to leave China\u2019s\u00a017+1 format<\/a><\/strong>, which, according to foreign minister\u00a0Landsbergis<\/a><\/strong>, \u201cis dividing Europe\u201d and brought Lithuania \u201calmost no benefits.\u201d The announcement aligns with Lithuanian plans to open an economic office in Taiwan, to which China\u2019s foreign ministry responded by reminding Lithuania of the \u201cone-China principle<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d adding that Lithuania should \u201cavoid doing anything detrimental to bilateral political mutual trust.\u201d Accordingly, analysts have warned Lithuania that its move brings serious economic risks: the value of Lithuanian trade with China is nearly 18 times the value of trade with Taiwan.<\/p>\n Hungary extends strict lockdown.<\/strong>\u00a0The restrictions announced two weeks ago will still be in force at least for another week starting from Monday 22 March,\u00a0announced PM Viktor Orb\u00e1n<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0on Friday morning. The government still considers Easter a risky period as families would gather and potentially spread the virus. Therefore, special restrictions regulating the Easter holiday could be expected soon. Despite more than 1.3 million people receiving at least one dose of the Covid vaccine,\u00a0figures<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>in Hungary remain on the rise. The government claims that \u201cEastern vaccines\u201d from Russian and Chinese manufacturers are being given at full speed.\u00a0Macroeconomic experts<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0are hopeful that retail turnover can reach the pre-Covid level this summer, providing that the vaccination process goes smoothly. According to the national consultation, once more than 2.5 million people are vaccinated, Hungary could gradually open up again.<\/p>\n Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya announces nationwide voting.\u00a0<\/strong>On 18 March, a week before Freedom Day in Belarus, exiled opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya\u00a0called<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0for internationally mediated negotiations with the government. The talks would be facilitated by the OSCE and the UN. The opposition leader is urging Belarusians to vote online to support her call for international negotiations with President Alexander Lukashenko\u2019s regime. Tsikhanouskaya said that the initial results of the vote through the website\u00a0belarus2020.org\/home\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>would be announced next Thursday, the anniversary of Belarus\u2019s independence declaration in 1918.<\/p>\n The website allows users to vote anonymously from their phones using Viber or Telegram messaging apps. Tsikhanouskaya also called on Belarusians to initiate a \u201csecond wave of protests\u201d next week against Lukashenko, and called on the international community to stand in solidarity with Belarus.<\/p>\n Ukraine plans to re-nationalise Motor Sich amid national security concerns.\u00a0<\/strong>One of the world\u2019s largest producers of aircraft and helicopter engines, Zaporizhzhia-based Motor Sich, is\u00a0planned to be<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0re-nationalised due to national security concerns over Chinese investors. The head of the Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov,\u00a0announced the decision<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0last week amid U.S. sanctions against the majority-stakeholder Skyrizon. The U.S. State Department\u00a0claimed that<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0the company had significant ties to the Chinese military and that Skyrizon \u201cis actively seeking to acquire intellectual property and technology to advance key military capabilities that threaten U.S. national security.\u201d The move is one of many in an attempt by Ukrainian President Zelenskiy to curry favour with Ukraine\u2019s Western allies amid the country\u2019s continuing push for NATO membership.<\/p>\n Urban dog cull looms ahead of Alabai dog national holiday in Turkmenistan.<\/strong>\u00a0In late April, Turkmenistan plans to honor its Central Asian dog breed. According to\u00a0RFE\/RL<\/strong><\/a>, residents of the Turkmen capital Ashgabat are worried about the latest pet culling campaign in the city ahead of this celebration, that will include a dog beauty contest, breeding rewards and other events that draw more attention than usual to animal rights issues. Last week, municipal officials entered\u00a0 residential buildings tossing poisonous foods that are supposed to kill stray pets such as dogs and cats. The hunting and overall abuse of dogs often occurs in Turkmenistan, sometimes including cruel acts such as beating dogs and puppies in front of children. Alabai dogs remain untouched by this, as this dog is protected by Turkmen law as \u2018national heritage\u2019. As a result, the popular image portraying President Berdymukhammadov caring for the Alabai puppy in his arms seems not to reveal the real image of a \u2018dog caring\u2019 leader after all.<\/p>\n 22 sentenced over border clashes in Uzbekistan.<\/strong>\u00a0A court in eastern Uzbekistan found 22 people\u00a0guilty<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>of involvement in violent clashes which erupted last year between the inhabitants of Uzbekistan\u2019s Sokh exclave and the Kyrgyz population of the surrounding areas. Two of the defendants were sentenced to five years in prison, with the others given milder sentences. Last year\u2019s unrest started due a dispute between the residents of Kyrgyz village Chechme and Uzbek village Chashma over the ownership of a spring. As a result, 187 Uzbeks were\u00a0<\/strong>hospitalized<\/a><\/strong>, including three people with gunshot wounds, while on the Kyrgyz side 25 were reported injured and 4 hospitalised. When the then-governor visited Sokh, he was reportedly attacked and pelted with stones. The clashes prompted\u00a0visits<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>from both Uzbekistan\u2019s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Sokh is one of several exclaves in the region facing tensions as a result of disputed borders.<\/p>\n This edition of Lossi 36 Weekly was originally sent by email on 22 March 2021. Subscribe to Lossi 36 Weekly here. This week\u2019s Special Russia recalls ambassador to US amid diplomatic spat: The Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, was\u00a0summoned back\u00a0to Moscow late last Wednesday, 13 March, for consultations following the U.S. President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oct_exclude_from_cache":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-7027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThis week\u2019s Special<\/strong><\/h5>\n
In the Balkans\u2026<\/strong><\/h5>\n
In the Caucasus…<\/strong><\/h5>\n
In Central Europe…<\/strong><\/h5>\n
In Eastern Europe…<\/strong><\/h5>\n
In Russia and Central Asia…<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Thank you to this week\u2019s contributors:<\/strong> Louise Guillon, Mida Medjedovic, Kristin Aldag, Ricardo Bergmann, Vira Kompaniiets, Charles Fourmi, Ryan Patterson, Tijs van de Vijver, Agnieszka Widlaszewska, Thapanee Tubnonghee and Kristina Pitalskaya<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"