Kazakhstan // Current TV

'World's oldest woman' dies at 130... after slipping in bathroom of new flat she was given to celebr

Long live laughter.

pressrecord
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Lord Give Me a Sign, Miraflix's Harlem Hostel, Illusions of Buddha Bar

This month on video you will see trailers and sample clips of Buddha Bar from... more

actorschecklist [removed]
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Heroin Teens in Kazakhstan

A remarkable film in which we follow the Kazakh police as they carry out a raid heroin... more

KazakhRob
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11 comments

American Idols are put to shame by a Kazakhstan Idol!

What idol can possibly compete with this guy? CHEERS

CISCO6060
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Kazakhstan Getting Futuristic Architectural Overhaul

Kazakhstan is looking to get a shiney new and ultra-futuristic makeover, with... more

purplefox
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Space tourist returns safely

Space tourist Richard Garriott's space vacation ended today when he landed safely... more

nazbags
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A classic day out at England Kazakhstan

All the fun of the day from build up to singy songs with Rough Rider and soaking up... more

1978jamesb
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Naked Willy at Wembley by Banksy

Prior to meeting the Borats after England Kazakhstan at Wembley we noticed a willy... more

1978jamesb
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Soyuz with Tourist Launches for Space Station [pics]

Photographs from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Sunday, October... more

ebindelglass
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Soyuz spacecraft prepared for launch (photos)

Photos from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Friday, October 10, 2008.

ebindelglass
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Country Fast Facts:Kazakhstan ,

Native Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region... more

starr111
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Russia remains a Black Sea power

by M K Bhadrakumar

If the struggle in the Caucasus was ever over oil and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) agenda towards Central Asia, the United States suffered a colossal setback this week. Kazakhstan, the Caspian energy powerhouse and a key Central Asian player, has decided to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Russia over the conflict with Georgia, and Russia's de facto control over two major Black Sea ports has been consolidated.

At a meeting in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on Thursday on the sidelines of the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Kazakh President Nurusultan Nazarbayev told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that Moscow could count on Astana's support in the present crisis.

In his press conference in Dushanbe, Medvedev underlined that his SCO counterparts, including China, showed understanding of the Russian position. Moscow appears satisfied that the SCO summit also issued a statement on the Caucasus developments, which, inter alia, said, "The leaders of the SCO member states welcome the signing in Moscow of the six principles for regulating the South Ossetia conflict, and support Russia's active role in assisting peace and cooperation in the region." The SCO comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

There were tell-tale signs that something was afoot when the Kazakh Foreign Ministry issued a statement on August 19 hinting at broad understanding for the Russian position. The statement called for an "unbiased and balanced assessment" of events and pointed out that an "attempt [was made] to resolve a complicated ethno-territorial issue by the use of force", which led to "grave consequences". The statement said Astana supported the "way the Russian leadership proposed to resolve the issue" within the framework of the United Nations charter, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and international law.

The lengthy statement leaned toward the Russian position but offered a labored explanation for doing so.

Kazakhstan has since stepped out into the thick of the diplomatic sweepstakes and whole-heartedly endorsed the Russian position. This has become a turning point for Russian diplomacy in the post-Soviet space. Nazarbayev said: I am amazed that the West simply ignored the fact that Georgian armed forces attacked the peaceful city of Tskhinvali [in South Ossetia]. Therefore, my assessment is as follows: I think that it originally started with this. And Russia's response could either have been to keep silent or to protect their people and so on. I believe that all subsequent steps taken by Russia have been designed to stop bloodshed of ordinary residents of this long-suffering city. Of course, there are many refugees, many homeless.

Guided by out bilateral agreement on friendship and cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia, we have provided humanitarian aid: 100 tons have already been sent. We will continue to provide assistance together with you.

Of course, there was loss of life on the Georgian side - war is war. The resolution of the conflict with Georgia has now been shifted to some indeterminate time in the future. We have always had good relations with Georgia. Kazakhstan's companies have made substantial investments there. Of course, those that have done this want stability there. The conditions of the plan that you and [President of France Nicolas] Sarkozy drew up must be implemented, but some have begun to disavow certain points in the plan.

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More at link.by M K Bhadrakumar If the struggle in the Caucasus was ever over oil and the North... more

Vierotchka
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China's Wild West

Unlike their Hollywood friendly brethren, the Tibetans, the Uighurs of northwestern... more

lauraling
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Oil Casualties: Kazakhs Mull Exporting Through Russia

Well that didn’t take long. Russia’s military incursion into Georgia, home to a key oil and gas pipeline, stoked fears that the West would have a harder time convincing Central Asian countries to defy Russia and take part in future pipeline projects that would reduce dependence on Russia. Now, some countries seem to be bailing out of the existing ones.

Kazakhstan is considering diverting its oil exports away from the BTC pipeline that runs through Georgia, and using Russia instead. The reason? “Security concerns,” brought about by Russian military intervention. From Turkey’s Hurriyet:

"Kazakhstan is considering pumping its oil through Russia as an alternative to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline due to increased security concerns over the clashes in the Caucasus, a Turkish daily reported on Thursday. A high level Kazakh official told Turkish business daily Referans that question marks now hang over the security of the BTC pipeline. “We could reconsider our decisions on sending Kazakh oil to the world market. Changing the (export) route is in our agenda now,” the official was quoted as saying by Referans."

That’s a blow to the existing BTC pipeline, not to mention any others the U.S. and Europe plan to build. It was meant to be expanded to handle additional oil coming from the big Kashagan fields in Kazakhstan. Turkish Energy Ministry officials told the newspaper “expansion of the BTC line would only be possible with the supply of Kazakh oil.”

The big worry about the Russian-Georgia conflict was that it heralded a new “iron curtain” in the region that could affect oil supply lines. The big surprise is how quickly that appears to be coming true.

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Click on the link to access in-text links.

See also: http://current.com/items/89210784_while_the_world_s_attention_was_focused_on_the_crisis_in_georgia

So now, counting its ally Iran, Russia has a near-monopoly and control of the Caspian Sea Basin oil and natural gas. Well done, Bush, Cheney Rice, McCain, and Saakashvili! Well that didn’t take long. Russia’s military incursion into Georgia,... more