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ditor: Eugen
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Risa Ch
Brice Jo
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hkhikvadze
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Radomsky
110/6/11410//10/14 4

On Wednesday, the Duma gave provisional approval to a

law that would compensate individuals hit by sanctions and
allow the seizure of foreign assets in the country. The law
was originally tabled in April, but was recently resurrected
after the Italian government froze approximately $36
million of property belonging to Arkady Rotenberg, one of
President Putins long-time allies. The controversial law
was approved by a slim margin of 233 to 202 votes.
ABC Bloomberg
On Thursday, Turkeys foreign minister, Mevlet Cavusoglu,
insisted it wouldnt be realistic for the world to expect
unilateral Turkish military action against ISIS. Cavusoglu
further explained that airstrikes would not tip the balance of
power in the region against ISIS. The remarks come as ISIS
is inching closer to taking the town of Kobani, a Kurdish
enclave in Syrias north which is visible from the Turkish
border.
CNN BBC
The U.N. released a report on Wednesday providing an
updated tally of the casualties in Ukraine since the
September 5 ceasefire. According to the report, there have
been at least 331 deaths in the month following the
ceasefire, in addition to the 3,600 people killed over the last
six months. While there have been no large-scale offensives
since the agreement, fire continues to be exchanged daily,
particularly around the Donetsk Airport and Luhansk.
Another 8,756 people have been wounded since April.
Deutsche Welle Wall Street Journal
In response to a statement made by the Russian Foreign
Ministry on October, Georgian Defense Minister Irakli
Alasania stated that the country would continue create
infrastructure as outlined in the NATO Wales Summit in
September. The Russian Foreign Ministry originally called
the development of such infrastructure a destabilizing force
in the Transcaucasus region. Alasania countered by saying
that the only threat to stability is Russian occupying forces
in the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Trend.az Civil.ge
A meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in
Minsk today will finalize the agreement for Armenia to join
the Eurasian Economic Union on January 1, 2015.
Presidents from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Armenia
will be present at the meeting, and the group will also
discuss a potential roadmap for Kyrgyz accession to the
Union. In addition, discussions will also address increased
Union cooperation with Vietnam, Israel, India, and Egypt.
ArmRadio TASS
President Timofti was in Minsk today, where he made a
statement at the CIS Heads of State Council that Moldovas
signing of the EU Association Agreement will not
negatively affect Moldovan relations with the CIS. Russian
President Putin, however, criticized Chisinau for not
holding consultations with Moscow on the accord, saying
that the agreement could lead to negative economic ties
between the two countries. Moldova signed the Association
Agreement in June.
RFE/RL Belta
Charter 97 RFE/RL
On Wednesday, 23 Azerbaijani Peacekeepers left for
Afghanistan to join the International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF). At the moment around 90 servicemen from
the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are involved in the
peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. Azerbaijan joined
the ISAF mission in Afghanistan in 2002 with the aim of
contributing to peace and security in the region.
Trend.az Azernews
On Wednesday, Belarusian activist Paval Vinahradau, a
member of the opposition group Zmena, was charged with
15 days in jail for disorderly conduct and fined for
appearing at the police station drunk. A few weeks earlier,
he was sentenced to 15 days in jail for using vulgar words in
public. Throughout the last few years, Vinahradau has been
sentenced 17 times on what he claims have been politically-
motivated charges.

An explosion occurred at the Parchin military facility on the
outskirts of Tehran on Sunday, killing two people. The
International Atomic Energy Agency has not been given
access to the site since 2005. The IAEA suspects that Iran
has conducted explosives tests related to nuclear weapons
research at Parchin in the past. Iran maintains that the site is
a conventional military facility and denies that an explosion
took place on Sunday, stating that the deaths were the result
of a fire at an explosives factory.
New York Times Haaretz
On October 9, Tajikistans Supreme Court declared the
opposition movement Group-24 an extremist group and
banned the organization in the country. The group had
recently begun using social media to call for street protests
in Dushanbe on October 10. Western news media have
reported that YouTube, Facebook, and other social media
sites have been inaccessible in Tajikistan since October 5.
Eurasia.Net RFE/RL
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan
made an official visit to Belarus on October 8 and 9. He
held official talks with President Alexander Lukashenko to
discuss increasing economic cooperation between the two
countries, including the construction of the Garlyk potash
mining and processing plant in Turkmenistan.
Trend Belta
The 24-story Shangri-La Hotel currently under
construction in Ulaanbaatar caught fire last week, taking
nearly 40 firefighters over two hours to extinguish the fire.
23 people were stranded on the roof, though they were all
rescued safely. The incident raised questions for
Mongolias limited fire truck capabilities, with the head of
the National Emergency Management Agency calling for
helicopters and other means to fight future fires.
UB Post Hotelier Middle East
The US Department of Labor released a report on October 8
detailing the persistent forms of child labor present in
Uzbekistan. Although President Karimovs administration
continues to deny that children are forced into cotton field
work, the Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor
report concludes that Uzbekistan is still complicit in the use
of forced child labor.
On Tuesday, a parliamentary committee in Kyrgyzstan
passed draft legislation that intends what they consider as
gay propaganda and makes it punishable by up to one
year in jail. It would also ban groups supporting LGBT
rights. Kurmanbek Dyikanbaev, co-author of the bill, said
that the proposal aims to protect traditional family values
against values espoused in the West.
RFE/RL Buzzfeed
EurasiaNet UzNews
On Wednesday, five men were executed for the rape of four
women outside of Kabul in late August. The execution
followed a national debate about the case, in which seven men
were convicted of robbery and extramarital sex, but not rape.
(The other two men received sentences of 20 years in prison
each.) While Afghan protesters called for the men to be
executed, international human rights group asked the new
administration to reevaluate the sentences in light of trial
inconsistencies and uninvestigated claims.
Guardian Reuters
The EU and Kazakhstan announced on Thursday that they
will sign a modified partnership and cooperation pact.
The agreement will significantly deepen political and
economic ties between Astana and Brussels. EU officials
stated that the agreement shows that countries do not have
to choose between the EU and the Eurasian Union. As
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
said, Europe is open to building strong and solid relations
with the members of the Customs Union.
EurasiaNet Wall Street Journal
ofceasefiredeal?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=world
On Wednesday, Polands central bank announced interest
rate cuts that were deeper than expected, reducing the
benchmark rate to 2.0%. In a policy statement, the bank said
that it does not rule out further adjustments later this year if
economic projections show a risk of inflation remaining
below the banks target of 2.5%. The Polish economy has
suffered recently from Russias ban on European food
imports and from the economic slowdown in Germany.
Romania Insider Reuters
Slovakia announced that it may seek compensation from the
EU for losses incurred as a result of a shortfall in gas
deliveries from Russia. European Energy Commissioner
Oettinger confirmed that Slovakia could potentially receive
compensation if Bratislava calculates that it has incurred
losses. A spokeswoman for Slovakias Ministry of Economy
stated that the issue would be brought up at the next European
Council meeting. Russian energy company Gazprom
continues to deny any shortfalls in its gas deliveries to
Slovakia.
Reuters EU Bulletin
Last week, prosecutors announced that they were
investigating Lukoil's Petrotel refinery in Romania on
charges of tax evasion and money laundering amounting to
an estimated 230 million euros. On Monday, the refinery
announced that it had stopped production after authorities
froze its assets and seized its raw materials, crude oil and
products. Lukoil appealed the freeze and was able to resume
production on Tuesday, but the investigation continues.
eske Noviny
Radio.cz
Wall Street Journal ABC
Elections for the Saeima were officially held on Saturday.
The opposition Harmony party which appeals to ethnic
Russians received 23% of the vote, giving them 24 of the
parliaments 100 total seats and making them the biggest
single party in Latvia. However, a center-right coalition of
parties, including Prime Minister Straujumas Unity Party,
together received 58% of the vote, and 61 chairs in the
parliament, an increase from the 47 chairs coalition received
at the previous election. Turnout was 58.8%.
Wall Street Journal Bloomberg
Reuters Wall Street Journal
Delfi.lt
Portfolio.hu BBJ
BuzzFeed
Czech citizens started going to the polling stations to cast
votes in municipal and Senate elections. There are 165
parties and movements that are taking part in the elections.
As Czech President Zeman declared, the elections will not
lead to radical change. This is not France where the
president changed the government after local elections, he
added. Citizens have two days to cast their vote.
Foreign Minister Linas Linkeviius stated in an interview
that Russia is financing propaganda inside Lithuania. In his
words, Russia is testing the limits of its actions within
Lithuania on a political, practical and public level. I dont
think we could be manipulated so easily, he said. But we
do feel this influence really quite strongly.

Estonia passed a civil partnership law on Thursday that
recognizes the civil union of couples regardless of gender.
According to the law, which is planned to come into effect
by January 1, 2016, same-sex couples will now enjoy the
same rights as heterosexual married couples, including
financial, social, and health benefits. The law passed with a
narrow margin of 40 to 38. Estonia is the first former Soviet
nation to legalize gay partnerships.
Hungary is preparing for municipal and local elections on
Sunday. Political parties have been touring the country
intensively to win popular support. Prime Minister Orban,
part of the Fidesz party, made several statements ahead of
the elections, reminding the public that the Fidesz-KDNP
coalition has won every election since the 2010
parliamentary elections and promising a sweeping set of
educational and economic reforms after the elections.

Bulgaria held early parliamentary elections on Sunday. The
Central Election Commission announced the official results
on Thursday, confirming that the center-right party GERB
won the largest share of votes, with 32.67% of the votes and
84 seats in parliament. GERB leader Boyko Borisov is
likely to become the next Prime Minister. Seven other
parties won seats in parliament and GERB announced that it
would begin holding talks with the other parties on forming
a coalition government on October 13.
Sofia Globe Novinite
Nine doctors and health officials were arrested in Kosovo
on Thursday as part of an investigation into corruption in
the countrys healthcare system. The suspects are accused
of taking bribes from private clinics to refer patients there
for heart surgery. In an official statement, the prosecutors
office reported that one of the clinics was unlicensed and
that the doctors were not authorized to carry out heart
surgery.
Reuters Daily News
Russian Energy minister Alexander Novak told Russian press
that Serbia had approached Russia seeking a free-trade
regime for certain classes of goods, including sugar,
cigarettes, alcohol, meat, and automobiles. The agreement
would entail changes to current customs duties by both sides.
As Russia is a member in the Eurasian Customs Union, the
proposed free-trade regime is subject to Customs Union
discussions.
Moscow Times RT
Human Rights Watch reported on Monday that over 8,200
people with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities are living
in segregated institutions and psychiatric hospitals in Croatia.
HRW further reported that the patients have little control
over decisions that affect their lives, including lack of
privacy. HRW described the institutions as similar to prisons.
Today, Croatia is exploring methods to convert such
institutions into community-based living arrangements.
Human Rights Watch Voice of America
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama will visit Serbia later this
month in the first visit by an Albanian premier in last 68
years. Rama will visit Belgrade to discuss the situation of the
Albanian community in the southern Serbian province of
Presevo and the recognition of Kosovo. Serbia has not
recognized independence of Kosovo, formerly a province of
Serbia. Kosovo's has been recognized by more than 100
countries, including the United States and most European
Union member states.
On Wednesday night, the European Parliament
overwhelmingly rejected Slovenias nominee to the
European Commission, the former Prime Minister Alenka
Bratusek. She had been nominated by incoming European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as one of his
senior vice presidents in charge of energy policy.
Financial Times Irish Times
ABC News Times of India
Balkan Insight
World News Report
Guardian BBC
A British man who had travelled to Macedonia for business
died in Skopje on Thursday from symptoms including fever,
vomiting, and internal bleeding, prompting officials to test
for Ebola. Staff at the mans hotel and all of the people with
whom he had come in contact have been quarantined. Blood
and tissue samples have been sent to a lab in Frankfurt for
testing. Some reports suggest that the man may have been
traveling in Nigeria, although this has not been confirmed.
On Tuesday, Montenegro signed a deal with the Council of
Europe Development Bank that will provide approximately
10 million euro of financial support to Montenegro to build
houses for wartime refugees. The funds will build permanent
homes for more than 120 families in Podgorica and 68
families in the municipality of Pljevlja. According to data
from 2012, around 16,000 wartime refugees from Croatia,
Bosnia and Kosovo live in Montenegro, where they have
been in temporary housing for close to fifteen years.

2014 Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
*Ceres is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic finished his
final defense at a UN tribunal in The Hague. Mr. Karadzic is
accused of war crimes and facilitating acts of genocide
during the Bosnian war, including the 1995 Srebrenica
massacre. He said that his conscience was clear in what he
described as a horrible war and that he expects to be
acquitted of all charges against him.
BBC NY Times