Beset with financing difficulties, Rosatom, Russia’s nuclear energy entity, is begging for more time to start building Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant on the shores of Lake Balkhash.
The site was selected after extensive study by Kazakh authorities.But at a recent meeting in Moscow, Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev told the head of Kazakhstan’s Atomic Energy Agency, Almassadam Satkaliyev, that the Russian entity will need “at least a year of observation of the site in order to form all the necessary reports … and implement the project in clear reference to the natural, geological and weather conditions of this particular place.” Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine have severely hampered Rosatom’s ability to finance projects.
Kazakhstan awarded the contract to Rosatom to build the Lake Balkhash facility back in 2025.The two countries agreed in principle on an arrangement in April under which Russia would assume 85 percent of the financing burden for the project, which has an estimated cost of $15 billion.
But that agreement has not yet been finalized.During the talks in Moscow, Satkaliyev pressed Likhachev on the issue of localizing the nuclear fuel cycle in Kazakhstan.In most cases, Rosatom retains an enduring and controlling role in its nuclear plant operations by maintaining responsibility for nuclear fuel supplies.
But Kazakhstan, which has abundant supplies of uranium of its own, seeks full control of the Balkhash plant’s nuclear fuel cycle.A report distributed by a Russian news outlet, Atomic Energy, quoted Likhachev as saying “we have found a common understanding on all positions.
Basic approaches have been developed that fully meet the interests of our states and the strategic nature of relations.” In case you missed it in the Caucasus… In Armenia, an American consulting firm, AECOM, has commenced site survey work on the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity.
AECOM representatives met with Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan on May 13.The work is being done under the auspices of the State Department’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment initiative.
TRIPP is the centerpiece of a provisional peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, brokered by President Trump last August.Azerbaijan is grappling with a major backup of Central Asia-bound long-haul cargo trucks due to the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict, local news outlets report.
Many transport companies are rerouting their trucks to Caspian Sea port facilities in Azerbaijan, rather than risk an overland run to Central Asia via Turkey and Iran.According to local news outlets, roughly 4,000 cargo trucks have piled up at the Azerbaijani port of Alat, waiting for ferries to take them across the sea to ports in Turkmenistan.
The wait time for a ferry slot was estimated at about 12 days.The cost of trans-Caspian ferry transport reportedly experienced a 5 percent increase in April, compared to prices in March.
A draft resolution prepared by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) castigates Georgia’s government over the “continuing breakdown of democracy in Georgia and the lack of any response to the recommendations of the Assembly to address this.” The resolution adds that the Georgian Dream government’s continuation of its current political course “would effectively establish a one-party dictatorship in Georgia, which violates essential democratic principles and is incompatible with Council of Europe membership.” Under present conditions, free and fair elections in the country are not possible, the draft resolution states.
While deploring the government’s conduct, the draft indicates PACE “remains committed to an open and results-oriented dialogue with [Georgian] authorities, as well as all other political and social forces in the country.” Meanwhile, across the Caspian… Kyrgyzstan’s Justice Ministry has ordered 50 businesses suspected of violating Western sanctions to suspend operations.
A Justice Ministry statement said the action was undertaken “to protect the national economy and prevent the negative consequences of possible secondary sanctions.” In April, Kyrgyzstan became the first foreign state to be slapped by the European Union with “anti-circumvention” sanctions covering an entire sector of goods.
Earlier EU sanctions had targeted specific entities and individuals.In response, Bishkek adopted an inter-agency plan to “identify unscrupulous participants in foreign economic activity and operations.” The 50 businesses shut down were allegedly “involved in high-risk transactions,” according to the Justice Ministry.
Manon Sodikov, a former high-profile figure in Tajikistan’s now banned Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT), has died under disputed circumstances.Government officials have characterized the death as a murder by two individuals during a robbery.
IRPT representatives describe the official account as dubious.The IRPT once shared power with incumbent Tajik leader Emomali Rahmon following the end of Tajikistan’s civil war in the late 1990s.
But Rahmon gradually sidelined the IRPT and established total control over the government.The IRPT was officially banned in 2015.BP has signed a deal to develop six blocks of Uzbekistan’s North Ustyurt region.
The production sharing agreement, announced May 13, involves BP, the Uzbek energy company Uzbekneftegaz, and the state-owned Azerbaijani firm SOCAR.BP will have a 40 percent stake in the venture, with Uzbekneftegaz and SOCAR each getting a 30 percent share. “We believe Uzbekistan has significant resource potential and see this as an opportunity to support the exploration and development of the country’s oil and gas resources, delivering long-term benefits to the region,” a BP statement quoted Gio Cristofoli, the head of BP operations in the Caspian Basin, as saying.
An Uzbek court earlier in May added 2.5 years of incarceration to the 16-year sentence that a prominent Karakalpak journalist and attorney was already serving for his role in the July 2022 protests in Nukus against constitutional changes to Karakalpakstan’s autonomous status.
A court in the central Uzbek city of Navoi sentenced Dauletmurat Tazhimuratov to additional time for “actions disrupting the work of an institution for the execution of punishment,” exiled Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratbai said on social media.
Tazhimuratov and his lawyer have said the charges were a result of Tazhimuratov’s “reaction to provocations, insults, and humiliation by the prison colony administration,” Muratbai wrote.The 47-year-old advocate for Karakalpakstan’s independence has maintained his innocence.
The court named Tazhimuratov an “especially dangerous recidivist,” and he will likely be transferred from a prison in Navoi to a harsher penal colony in the Bukhara Region, RFE/RL reported.
Tazhimuratov likely will not appeal the decision in hopes that accepting the verdict will speed his transfer back to prison, his brother told the broadcaster.