Word: russia
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...counterpart, Asif Zardari, took place in Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan. Reportedly on the table were plans to beef up trade ties as well as improve cooperation in the fight against Islamist extremism - clear signs, experts say, that Moscow is bolstering its role in the "Af-Pak" theater, a region Russia had largely retreated from after the scarring decade-long Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s...
...Behind the handshakes and platitudes lies a deeper political calculus. Karzai and Zardari began their presidential terms with staunch support from Western capitals - now both have fallen out of favor, faulted for not doing enough to rein in extremists amid accusations of corruption and misrule. A warmer relationship with Russia could be the counterbalance to the West's increasingly frosty and frustrated attitude toward Afghanistan and Pakistan. (See pictures of world leaders...
...crackdown was violent, with hundreds of opposition supporters jailed. In the aftermath, Moldovan leader and Communist strongman Vladimir Voronin, 68, turned inwards - and to Moscow. He accused neighboring European Union member Romania of provoking the riots in order to pave the way for a coup against him. In June, Russia rewarded Voronin with $500 million in infrastructure loans. That was followed last week by good news from China, who announced $1 billion in similar loans. To put that in context: Moldova's annual GDP is just $4 billion...
...political figure, such as an academic, to do the job. A new government is also likely to negotiate a deal to get Voronin to leave politics entirely in exchange for immunity from any prosecution for his conduct over the past eight years. "We've seen this in Russia when Yeltsin stepped down or in Georgia, when Shevardnadze left, these previous authoritarian presidents got informal immunity. I imagine that will be the case in Moldova," says Ursu...
...Cold-shouldering Moscow could also come at a cost. Moldova is dependent on Russia for gas, oil and electricity imports. The new government says it will pursue stronger relations with Europe and Romania, with whom it shares many cultural similarities. Moldova was part of Romania until World War II, when a chunk of the country was given to the Soviets by the Nazis. Fears of unification kept previous Moldovan governments from building bilateral ties. And then there is the problem of Transnistria, a tiny Russian-speaking province backed by Moscow that wants to secede. "At least we have a year...