Xi and Putin driving Eurasia resurgence, says Duowei

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-07-13

Chinese president Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin in the Russian city of Ufa, July 10, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)

Chinese president Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are actively driving the resurgence of Eurasia, reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.

Xi and Putin were among the leaders who attended the "dual summit" of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa — and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan —in the Russian city of Ufa on July 8-10.

In his speech at the BRICS summit, Xi called for the formation of a community of responsibility and common destiny based on mutual political trust, economic integration and cultural tolerance.

The importance Xi has placed on the dual summits reflects China's growing investment in diplomacy as part of the country's continuing plan to comprehensively deepen reforms, Duowei said.

Since coming to power in November 2012 as general secretary of the Communist Party, Xi has sought to strengthen ties with Africa and Latin America, as well as build a new type of "major powers" relationship with the US, Duowei said, though it is clear that his primary focus is firmly on Eurasia.

According to Duowei, China's main strategic emphasis now is Xi's ambitious "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to boost connectivity and cooperation among countries in Eurasia. The two-tier project comprising the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the sea-based Maritime Silk Road is likely to be tied in with the newly formed, Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank (NDB), formerly the BRICS Development Bank, and its US$100 billion emergency reserve fund, of which China is the largest contributor with a share of 41%.

China is not the only country aiming for a Eurasia resurgence, Duowei said, adding that Russia as well as other emerging nations have also been moving towards developing stategies of regional integration.

This is not surprising given Eurasia's strong potential, Duowei said. Eurasia accounts for 75% of the world's population and holds a significant portion of the world's mineral resources. Up to 60% of the world's gross national product is attributable to Eurasia, and three-quarters of the world's known energy resources are also found on the Eurasia mainland, Duowei added, noting that proper strategies and management will reap massive benefits for every party in the long run.

The three main powers in Eurasia are the European Union, Russia and China, Duowei said. The EU is struggling with the Greek debt crisis, while Russia is reeling from the economic sanctions imposed as a result of its annexation of the Crimean penninsula from Ukraine last year, leaving China as the most important driving force of the region, Duowei added.

The unprecendented level of cooperation and integration developing across Eurasia provides cause for optimism, notwithstanding the instability caused by sluggish economies, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, environmental pollution, territorial disputes and military conflicts, Duowei said.

For Beijing, a prosperous Eurasia is not only the key to reviving China's slowing economy, it is the road to greater international credibility and authority, Duowei said. While there is still much integration to be coordinated and many obstacles to overcome, China must face these problems head on if it intends to succeed, Duowei added.

A limited attendance meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Heads

of State Council in the Russian city of Ufa, July 10, 2015. (Photo/CFP)

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Chinese President Xi Jinping poses for photos with leaders of the Shanghai 

Cooperation Organization members and observers, the Eurasian Economic Union

 leaders, leaders of invited countries and the BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia,

India, China and South Africa in Ufa, Russia, July 9, 2015. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

Merkel and Gabriel offer Russia free-trade agreement

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has offered Russia negotiations with the EU on the "possibilities of cooperation in a joint trade area". In return, Berlin expects "a comprehensive resolution" of the conflict in Ukraine.

Deutsche Welle, 23 Jan 2015

After talks with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Florence on Friday, Merkel said that "if the part of problems over Ukraine is solved", there could be trade talks between the EU and the newly-established Eurasian Economic Union.

"I know that we have to talk about it at the European level," Merkel said and stressed out "those are the projects for the distant future."

Deputy spokeswoman of the German government Christiane Wirtz said there is no concrete offer for negotiations with Russia, it is a "signal of openness" for discussion. "In principle, we are open for talks on a joint free-trade area," she said.

Earlier on Friday, German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reported how Merkel's offer was made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Merkel said that Germany was "ready to open talks about possibilities for co-operating in a collective trade area".

'Europe should not give up on European Russia'

Sigmar Gabriel in Davos

According to the paper, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel also proposed "discussion about a free-trade zone" as a next step in effort to bring Russia back into the European fold after the war in Ukraine comes to an end.

Both Merkel and Gabriel, who is also vice chancellor, described the free-trade zone as extending from "Lisbon to Vladivostok," the paper said - a formulation first used by Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with the daily in 2010. Merkel also used this turn of phrase in her public address at Davos on Thursday.

"Europe should not give up on European Russia," Gabriel said to DPA. Even though it looks unrealistic at the moment, as the Russian side did almost nothing for a peace in eastern Ukraine, "we must think about the day after conflict ends," Gabriel said.

Even in Davos he added that EU members should already be discussing what they could offer Russia in the event of peace. "The next step is a free-trade zone", he said.

However, the German leaders insist that Russia first had to comply with the Minsk Agreement, a ceasefire deal signed in September in the Belarusian capital by Ukraine, Russia and pro-Moscow rebels who are waging an insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

By the standards of NATO members as a whole, Germany has been comparatively understated in its criticism of Russia during the Ukraine conflict, for instance seeking to keep OECD-sponsored peace talks in motion, most recently with a foreign ministers' meeting held in Berlin this week between French, German, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators.

jil/msh (dpa, AFP, Reuters)

Related Article:

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… Human Nature is Changing

There's a new concept afoot, a change in Human nature. We've spoken about this before. How many of you studied European history? And in school, did your mind fill up with all of the dates you had to memorize? Who conquered whom and when? Over and over and over, every single country had their turn conquering another country. Borders moved constantly. As far back as you want to go, that's what Humans did. They separated, gathered, and conquered. But as little as 50 years ago, it all stopped.

We've said this before. Fifty years ago, a seed, an idea, was planted at the end of World War II. "Let's put these European countries together," they said. "Let's even drop the borders and eventually give them one currency." Do this and they'll never war again, they predicted, for countries with common economic sources don't go to war! And that's exactly what's happened. Did it work? It's fairly fresh, but their money is threatening to take over the strength of your money, did you notice? It's worth more than yours. They still struggle to make it work and balance it. But then again, you do the same in the United States, always fine tuning the unity.

South America is considering the same thing right now. The seeds are being planted in Brazil. Within a generation, they would love to see the borders dropped and one currency. Can they do it? Perhaps. Perhaps it will take longer. Why do it? Because they see the European Union with the strongest currency on Earth. We've said this before. Here is a prediction: Perhaps not in your time, but there'll come a day when there are only five currencies in the world, because continents will start understanding that unification creates peace and prosperity. Separation creates chaos. What a concept. …”

Europe's last dictator marks anniversary

In a dubious anniversary, authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko marks 20 years as Belarus president. How has Europe's last dictator managed to stay at the helm of the eastern European country for so long?

Deutsche Welle, 10 July 2014

20 years ago, hardly anybody thought that the West would one day refer to Alexander Lukashenko as "Europe's last dictator". Neither politicians nor political observers had foreseen his victory in the presidential elections on July 10, 1994. More than 80 percent of voters in Belarus allegedly voted for him at the time.

Lukashenko, who headed a state-owned agricultural firm at the time, first ran for a political office in the parliamentary elections in 1990. As a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, the highest legislative body of the Soviet Union, he would sometimes side with the Communists and sometimes with the Nationalists. Lukashenko chaired the committee for the fight against corruption. In angry speeches he would regularly attack representatives of the communist nomenclature, the government's backbone at the time. It gained him widespread popularity with the general public.

Observers say his victory in the 1994 presidential elections was largely the result of a protest vote. Voters had grown tired of the communist regime, of hyper inflation and other economic problems. But not even the supporters of the 39-year-old new president would have predicted that Lukashenko would go on to stay in office for this long.

Help from Russia

But what is the secret behind Lukashenko's political longevity? Belarusian political scientist Alexander Klaskovsky believes it's a mixture between Lukashenko‘s populism and the low demands by voters in Belarus. Most people, he said, are satisfied with their relatively stable living standards – even if they lag far behind western European standards. "Their jobs are guaranteed. They live in a remake of Soviet life where you don't have to work and think hard," Klaskovsky told Deutsche Welle in an interview.

Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan founded the Eurasian Economic Union
in May 2014.

But tremendous financial support from Moscow is the crucial key to Lukashenko's success, the political scientist added. According to estimates by Belarusian experts, direct and indirect subsidies amount to up to ten billion US dollars (7 billion euros) per year. Minsk benefits from low energy prices and trade perks. Belarusian refineries process oil delivered by Russia. The largest share of exports from Belarus go to Russia. Minsk is hoping to benefit from further customs reductions and additional revenue of three to four billion US dollars per year through the Eurasian economic union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Klaskovsky also pointed out that this year alone, Belarus will have to pay back more than three billion US dollars to its creditors. The Kremlin has been the only possible partner for outside financing activities so far. Lukashenko is not willing to implement political and economic reforms, so collaboration with potential western partners is not an option. "Minsk‘s access to the International Monetary Fund's financing programs is therefore extremely limited," said Klaskovsky.

The power of fear

Valery Karbalevitch from the Belarusian research center 'Strategia' also stressed the tremendous financial, economic, political and military support from Russia. Lukashenko's regime would not survive without this help, he said. "Add to this oppression and even elimination of regime critics. It has meant that many politically active people have left Belarus," Karbalevitch told DW.

Stanislav Shushkevitch, who was the first head of state in independent Belarus, pointed out how Lukashenko destroyed the young democracy in the first two years of his reign. "First the media was monopolized and then local self-administration was abolished."

That created an atmosphere of fear that the current regime is still based on, said Michail Pastuchov, who used to be a judge at the country's first constitutional court. "The foundation of the current system in Belarus is fear. They keep trying to make it clear to people that every expression of dissatisfaction will be brutally quashed," said Pastuchov.

After the presidential elections in late 2010, Lukashenko had anti-vote
rigging protests violently quashed in Minsk.

Will Lukashenko exploit the crisis in Ukraine?

Political observers say the current crisis between Russia and Ukraine is further spreading fear in Belarus, within both the government and the population. They say Lukashenko is aware of the threat from Russia. At the same time, he considers the Ukraine crisis a new asset in his hands that can help him further consolidate his power, said Valery Karbalevitch.

People in Belarus are scared of change, the social scientist believes. State-controlled media have long spread the message that the political opposition in Belarus would only bring chaos, anarchy and even war to the country if they were to take over power. Lukashenko's slogan for the 2015 presidential election campaign goes along those lines. "Either Lukashenko and stability, or change and chaos." Karbalevitch added that Lukashenko‘s situation ahead of the presidential elections would be more uncomfortable than it is now if it hadn't been for the events in Ukraine.

Ex-Soviet trio sign trade bloc deal

A treaty to launch the Eurasian Economic Union spanning Russia, Kazahkstan and Belarus has been signed by the countries' presidents in the Kazahk capital. The bloc will come into being next January.

Deutsche Welle, 29 May 2014

Three ex-Soviet republics took the first step on Thursday to creating a trading bloc with a combined population of 170 million after years of tense negotiations. It still depends on approvals from the republics' parliaments.

Ukraine opted not to join the proposed bloc in February after an unprecedented to-and-fro wrangle with Russia over an alternative plan - aborted during unrest - to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union.

At Thursday's signing in Astana, Kazakhstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Eurasia bloc would enable the trio to strengthen their positions in global markets - alongside the EU, US and China.

The Eurasian deal stops short of introducing a single currency and delays the creation of a common energy market.

The treaty deepens a customs union created in 2010 and is supposed to guarantee the free transit of goods, services, capital and labor, as well as coordinated economic policy.

A compromise, says Lukashenko

Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said before the signing that he was not fully happy with the deal, but hailed it as a compromise.

The agreement was "well-balanced," said President Nursultan Nazabayev of Kazakhstan whose energy riches leave Russia with little leverage.

The union should become a "powerful incentive for modernizing our economies," said Nazabayev, adding that he saw it as a "bridge between the East and the West."

Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have said that they want to join the union later.

The Eurasian Economic Union will base its executive body in Moscow, a high court in Belarus and a top financial regulator in Kazakhstan.

The office of Ukraine's newly elected president, Petro Poroshenko, said on Wednesday that he wanted to sign a landmark treaty with the EU soon after his inauguration as head of state.

Last November, Ukraine's then Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych turned his back on an accord with the EU. His decision triggered protests, especially in Kyiv, that led to his ouster in February.

Putin began the drive to create the Eurasian union after asserting in 2005 that the break-up of the Soviet Union had been the "biggest geopolitical disaster" of the 20th century.

ipj/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)

Moldova turns toward Russian Customs Union

Deutsche Welle, 18 March 2014

While the world watches Crimea, Putin is still planning for the Republic of Moldova to join Russia's Customs Union. Pressure from Moscow is high - and might be enough to scrap Moldova's EU Association Agreement.

First, Russia limited wine imports from Moldova. Then, of the roughly half a million Moldovans working there, it denied work visas to 20,000.

Now, it seems Moscow is moving from sticks to carrots in its attempt to persuade Moldova to rethink an upcoming EU Association Agreement: As of February, the Gagauz, an ethnic minority, have been preparing a popular protest against the EU deal - and seem to be winning Moscow's favor for their efforts.

Previously, Moldova had been considered a safe candidate for an EU Association Agreement. Located between Romania and Ukraine, it is supposed to sign the contract withthe EU this summer - despite its "frozen conflict" in the separatist region of Transnistria.

That region is increasingly demanding to join the Russian Federation outright - or, at the very least, to join its Customs Union. One hundred kilometers (62 miles) south of Molodva's capital, Chisinau, economic relations to Russia, it seems, are more important than EU trade.

Welcome to Gagauzia

The Gagauz people

The heart of the resistance against the EU agreement is the sleepy town of Comrat, the capital of the region of Gagauzia. Mihal Formuzal is instigating the protests in the city of 23,000.

Like most in his region, Formuzal belongs to the Gagauz ethnic minority. Of roughly 250,000 descendents worldwide, nearly 150,000 live in Moldova.

He is their "baschkan," or "leader." Administratively, the region is autonomous, run by the group whose ethnicity is Turkic and whose religion is Orthodox Christian. Only judiciary, foreign policy and security are not under regional control.

Leading the turn toward Russia:
Mihail Formuzal

Formuzal, who formerly served as a major in the Soviet army's artillery unit, is calling on followers to fight the EU agreement. The Association Agreement, he says, only puts the economy in the region out of balance. It also threatens the autonomy of Gagauz, he argues.

In a symbolic local referendum, 98.5 percent of the around 70,000 Gagauz who participated said no to better EU trade relations, instead favoring inclusion in Putin's free trade union.

'We're not against the EU'

Kazakhstan and Belarus are already members of Russia's Customs Union. As of next year, the three-party coalition is meant to become a federation similar to the EU.

The autonomous region of Gaugazia has good trade relations with Russia, where its agricultural products do well. According to Formuzal, Gaugazian farmers would hardly stand a chance in the European market.

And Formuzal knows the EU's economy. He studied in Geneva, Switzerland, and his son is studying in the German city of Giessen. "Our economy in Gaugazia needs another 10 years to become competitively viable in the EU. Only the Russian market can save us over the next ten years," he told DW.

That sentiment can also heard on the streets of Comrat, where 64-year old pensioner named Dimitri Dimcioglu is watching his grandchildren play on a playground. The former teacher is worried about his their future. "Unemployment here is very high, and industry is hardly developed," he told DW.

Locals are trying to make the right choice for their children and grandchildren

According to Dimcioglu, that's why many Gagauz move to Russia or to Turkey as foreign workers. On the streets of Gagauzia people speak Russian; at home they speak Gagauz, which, according to Dimcioglu, is "95 percent similar to Turkish."

Dmitri's participation in the referendum was pragmatic rather than political reasons. "I didn't vote for Russia, but for the customs unit," he says. "Us Gagauz, we're not against the EU, we're just against breaking with Russia:"

A moot point?

In Comrat, memories of
Soviet times remain fresh

For the region's governor, the concerns are similar. "The main issue is that currently 25,000 Gagauz work in Russia. If the Association Agreement with the EU is signed we will be chased out of the Russian Federation," he said. "What am I supposed to do? People will then demand work from me that I don't have."

Formuzal says his own efforts are already bearing fruit: As a form of reward, Russia will soon import Comrat wine. Gas prices for the Gagauz will also be lowered.

While his initial referendum may have been non-binding in a legal sense, it still carries a political punch: The Gagauz people also voted at that time that they would declare autonomy from the Republic of Moldova if the parliament in Chisinau were to sign an EU Association Agreement.

But Formuzal's protests might not be necessary for much longer. Moldovans will vote on a new parliament in autumn. According to polls, the country's communist party will win.

"Moldovans aren't stupid," said Inna Shapuk, a representative for the communist fraction in Moldova's parliament. "They see on TV how anti-democratic politics are under the flag of the EU. We want to show the advantages Russia's Customs Union would have."

Her first planned official act: simply scrapping the EU association agreement, if it were to be signed.

Putin's power play jeopardizes Eurasian Union plans

Deutsche Welle, 15 March 2014

President Vladimir Putin aims to create an Eurasian Union where the Soviet Union once reigned. But Moscow's intervention in Crimea could make former Soviet republics think twice about deeper integration with Russia.

During his annual address to the Russian parliament back in 2005, President Putin publicly lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union, calling it "a major geopolitical disaster of the century." The former KGB man laid out his solution to this "disaster" in a 2011 newspaper editorial, in which he called for the creation of an Eurasian Union.

"First, none of this entails any kind of revival of the Soviet Union," Putin wrote in the daily Izvestia. "It would be naïve to revive or emulate something that has been consigned to history. But these times call for a close integration based on new values and a new political and economic foundation."

"We suggest a powerful supranational association capable of becoming one of the poles in the modern world and serving as an efficient bridge between Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region," he continued.

Neighboring Belarus and Kazakhstan have signed up to join Russia in this integration project. In 2010, the three ex-Soviet republics formed a common customs union. Meanwhile, they have agreed to make the Eurasian Economic Union a reality by January 1, 2015.

Close, but not too close?

"According to Putin, it has to be a political alliance, not only the customs union, with supranational institutions that will be hosted by Moscow and apparently dominated by Russia," Lilia Shevtsova, a Russia expert with CarnegieMoscow, told DW.

'Anti-thesis to the West'

While Shevtsova described the Eurasian Union as Putin's "pet project," she said that the concept of Eurasianism as an ideology developed in early 20th century Russia as an "antithesis to the West."

"The major principle of Eurasianism is that Russia has to be the pole of a new civilization, which is situated on the huge Eurasian territory that includes a European part and an Asian part," Shevtsova said. "Russia is unique and Russia is not Europe."

"The Eurasian concept is based on such values as the Orthodox Church and the strength of the state," she said. "The state is much more important than individuals."

'EU without democracy'

In terms of its structure, the Eurasian Union is modeled on the European Union's political integration project, but without the emphasis on democracy and human rights, according to Amanda Paul, an expert on the Eurasian region at the in Brussels.

A handful of former Soviet republics, led by Russia, created the Eurasian Economic

Community (EAEC or Eurasec) in 2000 to serve as the motor of integration in the former Soviet space. The organization's institutional structure is similar to the defunct European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Union. Eurasec has an interstate council, a permanent committee, an inter-parliamentary assembly and a court.

The interstate council consists of the Eurasec members' heads of state and makes decisions by consensus, while the permanent committee requires a two-thirds majority vote. Voting power in the committee is based on financial contributions. Russia wields 40 votes while Belarus and Kazakhstan each hold 20. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan possess 10 votes respectively.

Driven by realpolitik

According to Shevtsova, Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko opted to join because he "cannot go to Europe" due to his repressive policies, and "he cannot survive by himself" because of the country's economic problems. Meanwhile, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev hopes to use Russia to balance out China's economic influence in the Central Asian country, she said.

Last September, Armenia turned down an association agreement with the European Union, opting instead for the customs union with Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. The Armenian deputy foreign minister, Shavarsh Kocharian, has said that Yerevan will be ready to join the customs union by mid-April.

Armenia has "chosen" to go
along with Russia's plan

"They basically didn't have any option but to ditch their agreement with the EU because of their reliance on Russia in many different sectors, obviously including energy security, economics and trade," Paul said.

"In the shared neighborhood with the EU, none of the countries want to join," she continued. "Russia is having to force them in there with all the sticks and whips it's got."

'Pop-up war syndrome'

According to Shevtsova, Kyiv is the "crown jewel" in Russia's Eurasian ambitions. A country of 45 million people, Ukraine has fertile agricultural land, an industrial base and lies right on Central Europe's doorstep.

"It was one of the key goals of Putin to get Ukraine into the orbit because a Eurasian Union…without Ukraine would have a very strong Asian face," she said.

But Moscow's intervention in Crimea could jeopardize the entire integration project. Ukraine has been driven even further into the West's arms by the de-facto Russian annexation of the Black Sea peninsula. The EU could sign the political chapters of an association agreement with Kyiv as early as March 20th.

Meanwhile, Belarus and Kazakhstan have failed to express strong public support for Moscow's position in Ukraine. Putin's doctrine of reserving the right to use military force to protect ethnic Russians might have Minsk and Astana worried. Nearly a quarter of Kazakhstan's population and eight percent of Belarus claim Russian ethnicity.

"If the Russians are allowed to get away with what they're doing in Crimea it sets a precedent to repeat this sort of behavior elsewhere," Paul said. "Russia is creating a sort of pop-up war syndrome. It doesn't like something so it creates a military confrontation."

Georgia, Moldova Endorse EU Association Agreements

Radio Free Europe, RFE/RL's Georgian Service, November 28, 2013

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has said he would like his country to
get on with the "long and meticulous work" ahead of signing an Association
Agreement with the EU by next September.

VILNIUS -- Georgia and Moldova have initialed their respective Association Agreements with the European Union ahead of the start of an EU Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius.

The process leaves one page to be ceremonially initialed during the second day of summit proceedings in the Lithuanian capital before more work that allows actual signings months or years down the road.

None of the other four so-called Eastern Partnership countries -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Ukraine -- is expected to initial deals in Vilnius.

Georgian First Deputy Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, who is leading his country's delegation in Vilnius, told RFE/RL that the initialing of the some 1,000-page document means it is already an irrevocable agreement.

MORE on the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius

Newly installed Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili said earlier this month that his country hoped to sign its EU Association Agreement by September 2014.

But he noted that "long and meticulous work" must be done first.

A signed Association Agreement would offer Georgia the possibility of closer economic integration provided Tbilisi adjusts its legal, judicial, and economic systems to fit certain EU norms.

Ukraine last week turned its attention toward Russia and upended negotiations with the European Union, putting a damper on the widely awaited summit and extending a Moscow-backed chill between some post-Soviet states and Brussels. Kyiv's move sparked street protests by pro-European Ukrainians who view with distrust President Viktor Yanukovych's moves to ally their country more closely with Russia.

Armenia recently sent a similar message to the European Union, putting its priority on a Russian-led customs union.

INFOGRAPHIC: A Cold Front From The East

Belarus, already a member of the same customs union, is still far away from any intention of significantly deepening its ties to the European Union.

Azerbaijan continues to negotiate for its own Association Agreement with the bloc.

 Students take part in a rally to support EU integration in Kyiv 

on November 26.

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Wen's trip deepens solidarity, mutual trust between China and Eurasian neighbors: FM

English.news.cn   2012-12-07     

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C,front) is welcomed by Kyrgyz Prime Minister
 Zhantoro Satybaldiyev (R, front) upon his arrival in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan,
Dec. 4, 2012. Wen Jiabao arrived here Tuesday to attend the 11th prime ministers'
meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and pay an official visit
 to Kyrgyzstan. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

SOCHI, Russia, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to Kyrgyzstan and Russia have deepened solidarity and mutual trust and boosted convergence of interests between China and Eurasian countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Thursday.

Wen visited the two countries and attended the prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers.

Wen's trip also bore significance to the development of the SCO and the long-term development of ties between China and countries in the region, Yang, who was companying Wen during his three-day tour, told reporters.

In Kyrgyzstan, Wen attended the 11th prime ministers' meeting of the SCO and met with some of the leaders present at the meeting. He also met Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev.

In Russia, Wen co-chaired the 17th regular China-Russia premiers' meeting with his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The SCO, since its establishment 11 years ago, have scored outstanding achievements in cooperation in various fields and played an important role in promoting regional peace and prosperity, Yang said.

China have enjoyed sound development of bilateral ties with both Russia, a strategic cooperation partner, and Kyrgyzstan, a significant neighbor and the rotating president of SCO, Yang said.

SCO members have developed stronger willingness to deepen regional cooperation and cooperation with China against the backdrop of profound changes in the global and regional situations and in the face of increasing risks of global economic downturn. China faces fresh opportunities to develop ties with these countries, Yang said.

Wen reached consensus with various parties in enhancing pragmatic cooperation and boosting mutual development, Yang said, adding that Wen also signed a series of guiding documents, setting the direction for the development of the SCO as well as the development of bilateral relations with Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

Wen's trip reflected China's dedication to promoting peace, development and cooperation, and achieving win-win outcomes, Yang said, adding the visit was a complete success, which consolidated friendship, enhanced mutual trust, expanded common understanding and deepened cooperation.

Demonstrators demand snap elections in Azerbaijan

Deutsche Welle, 22 April 2012

In a rare, authorized rally just outside the capital of Azerbaijan, host of next month's Eurovision Song Contest, thousands of protesters have called for new elections and democratic reforms.

Some 5,000 Azerbaijanis protested Sunday near the venue for next month's Eurovision Song Contest, demanding greater freedoms, release of political prisoners and elections.

Organized by the Public Chamber opposition coalition, protestors demanded the resignation of President Ilham Aliyev. Aliyev succeeded his father, Haidar, in 2003 and has been accused of election fraud and civil rights abuses.

The venue for the demonstration was the suburban Bailovo district, where the Eurovision Song Contest will be held from May 22-26. Protests are banned in the center of the capital, Baku, but government permission was given for this rally to go ahead.

"We demand fundamental reforms, or the people might rise against the ruling regime," Popular Front party leader Ali Kerimly told the rally. "We demand snap parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners."

Opposition parties complain of a lack of democratic rights and free speech in the mainly Muslim, oil and gas rich country. Demonstrations in April were put down by the authorities and a number of protestors remain in jail.

Eurovision is seen as a showcase opportunity for the country. A crystal palace which can hold 25,000 fans has been built especially for the event.

jm/acb (AFP, dpa)

Russia plans 'Eurasian Union' on EU model

Deutsche Welle, 26 December 

The three countries hope to integrate
their economies

Twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia wants to join two other former Soviet republics in a new integration project. The Eurasian Union is to be based on the EU - but its success is in doubt.

On January 1, 2012, a new version of the common economic area between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan comes into effect. The three countries had already founded a customs union in 2007, and Putin has said integration with the EU could take place by 2015.

The EU is a model for the Eurasian Union right down to its name. The "Eurasian Economic Commission" is to be the union's regulatory body, reminiscent of the European Commission, the EU's Brussels-based executive body. Boris Gryzlov, until recently the speaker of the Russian parliament, has already envisioned a Eurasian parliament. The creation of a common currency is not impossible either. Putin says the principle of equality should be especially important for the union - but the success of that principle is in doubt. 

The 'Eurasian Union' is the pet
project of Vladmir Putin

The Eurasian Union is the pet project of Russian prime minister and designated presidential candidate Vladimir Putin. It's not about copying or restoring the Soviet Union, he wrote in October 2011 in an article published by the national daily newspaper Izvestia.

Putin's suggestion was "a new, strong, supranational union that could become one of the poles of the modern world, and could play the role of an effective bridge between Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region." Russia is first and foremost touting the economic benefits of such a union, like cheaper gas. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are in talks about joining as well.

Old new integration

Putin's ideas are not new. After the fall of the USSR, there were several attempts at maintaining the connections among the former semi-republics. The best-known example is the Commonwealth of Independent States formed in December 1991. Observers consider the union to have failed. While it does serve as a platform for dialogue among the heads of state, critics say the CIS has been unable to produce any noteworthy successes in integration.

The one exception is the free trade treaty signed by eight countries in October 2011. But in resolving political conflicts, the CIS has proven to be ineffective. It was unable to prevent the war between Russia and Georgia in 2008, after which Georgia quit the union all together.

The idea of a common economic area has also already existed since 2003 among the three Slavic republics Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, and the central Asian Kazakhstan. However this was much more of an agreement on paper than in practice. Now this union is to be resurrected, presumably without Ukraine, which is now aspiring to integration with the EU.

Russian dominance 

Russia, like Belarus and Kazakhstan,
is   criticized for a lack of transparent
democracy

The three founding members all have dictatorial tendencies, though to varying degrees. Freedom of the press and the rule of law have suffered under Vladimir Putin's Russia, typified in the massive protests across the country against apparently falsified election results. Belarusian President Victor Lukashenko is commonly dubbed "the last dictator in Europe" and finds himself confronted with ever-harsher sanctions from the EU. And Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in power for 20 years, is the object of a growing personality cult. At the beginning of this month, parliament declared the 71-year-old strongman "hero of the nation."

Experts see the chances of the Eurasian Union becoming an "EU of the East" as slim to none. Eastern Europe expert Gerhard Simon of the University of Cologne said the principle of equality, as exemplified in the EU, has no chance of taking root in the new bloc.

"It's unimaginable for me to think that the Russian political class would be ready hand over to the Kyrgyz the right to make political and economic decisions that could be binding for Russia," Simon told Deutsche Welle. He added that he did not think the Eurasian Union was exclusively about economics.

"Behind that there is the goal of the integration of security policy, the military and politics in general," he said. In the driver's seat, Simon added, will undoubtedly be Russia.

The people say yes, but… 

The economic union could branch out
into areas of security and politics

Whether the new union in the post-Soviet bloc can be successful at a less ambitious level remains to be seen, Simon said. Other experts see success as entirely possible. Alexander Rahr of the German Council on Foreign Relations said he could foresee the creation of a new cultural, political and economic union, but not one comparable to the Soviet Union.

Eberhard Schneider of the EU-Russia Center in Brussels said that an attempt to create a union similar to the EU with free movement of people, goods, finance and services has a chance at success. However not all individual states of the former Soviet Union would take part.

Support for closer integration with former Soviet republics appears to have a plurality among the Russian population. According to a survey by the opinion research institute WZIOM, 43 percent of Russians said a common economic area would be more useful than harmful. About one third of respondents said they favored closer relations with those countries over a formal union.

What is clear is that many Russians are poorly informed about their government's attempts at integration. Only 53 percent of Russians surveyed in November by the research organization the Levada Center knew of the plans to merge the economies of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, while 45 percent said they were completely unaware of them.

Author: Roman Goncharenko / acb

Editor: Michael Lawton

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