rferl--2020-02-07--Iraq, Russia Discuss Heightened Military Cooperation Amid U.S. Strains

Iraq 's Defense Ministry says it has discussed the possibilities for deepening military cooperation with Russia , as ties between Baghdad and Washington fray following a U.S. air strike that killed a top Iranian general in the country .
The statement by the ministry on February 6 followed a meeting in Baghdad between the chief of staff of Iraq 's army , Lieutenant General Othman al-Ghanimi , and Russian Ambassador Maksim Maksimov , along with Moscow ’ s newly arrived defense attache .
Ghanimi praised Moscow 's role in the battle against the Islamic State extremist group , saying the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with advanced and effective equipment and weapons that had a major role in resolving many battles , '' the ministry statement said .
The statement added that the two sides discussed prospects for `` cooperation and coordination '' and that Maksimov extended an invitation to Ghanimi to visit Russia and meet with his counterpart `` within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the two countries . ''
Iraq has relied heavily on Washington 's military and financial support since the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003 .
It has attempted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which maintains strong influence with Shi'ite militias , although recent street protests have expressed anger about foreign influence in the country .

Iraq's Defense Ministry says it has discussed the possibilities for deepening military cooperation with Russia, as ties between Baghdad and Washington fray following a U.S. air strike that killed a top Iranian general in the country.
The statement by the ministry on February 6 followed a meeting in Baghdad between the chief of staff of Iraq's army, Lieutenant General Othman al-Ghanimi, and Russian Ambassador Maksim Maksimov, along with Moscow’s newly arrived defense attache.
Ghanimi praised Moscow's role in the battle against the Islamic State extremist group, saying the Russians had provided “our armed forces with advanced and effective equipment and weapons that had a major role in resolving many battles," the ministry statement said.
The statement added that the two sides discussed prospects for "cooperation and coordination" and that Maksimov extended an invitation to Ghanimi to visit Russia and meet with his counterpart "within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the two countries."
Moscow did not immediately comment.
Iraq has relied heavily on Washington's military and financial support since the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003. It has attempted to balance relations with Washington and Tehran, which maintains strong influence with Shi'ite militias, although recent street protests have expressed anger about foreign influence in the country.
Based on reporting by AP


rferl--2020-02-07--Trump: U.S. Forces Kill Leader of Yemeni Al-Qaeda

President Donald Trump has announced that the United States killed the leader of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( AQAP ) extremist group in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen .
Trump said in a statement on February 6 that Qassim al-Raymi ’ s death will weaken the terror group in its region and Al-Qaeda globally .
He did not say when Raymi was killed .
`` Under Raymi , AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces , '' Trump said .
`` His @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Al-Qaeda movement , and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security , '' he said .
Raymi succeeded Nasser al-Wuhayshi as military commander of AQAP after Wuhayshi was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2015 .
In his first speech as new leader in July 2015 , Raymi called for attacks on the United States .
`` You Americans , the more you kill from us , the more determined we become .
Each leader you kill , there is one to replace , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the time .
Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.
Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it's made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said. "We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban's two years of rule shameful and worrying.
Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban's strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.
The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law.
The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group's leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.
Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.
"The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-02-07--U.S., Russia In War Of Words Over Competing Interests In Venezuela

The United States and Russia have exchanged harsh words over Venezuela , where Moscow supports a president considered illegitimate by the United States and some 50 other countries .
Elliott Abrams , the U.S. special representative for the South American country , warned Russia on February 6 over its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro , saying its backing for the embattled leader could cease to be `` cost-free . ''
Meanwhile , Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela , criticizing what he called Washington 's `` provocations '' and attempts to create a pretext @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the midst of a political crisis after months of anti-government street protests against Maduro , who was sworn in for a second term in January 2019 following elections in May 2018 that were marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging .
Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country under his rule , which has been marked by economic woes and humanitarian disaster .
The opposition has accused the socialist Maduro of mismanaging the economy , sending the country into an economic crisis .
Maduro has blamed outsiders , including the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The United States and more than 50 other countries have recognized opposition figure Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim leader of Venezuela .
Russia , Cuba , and China continue to back Maduro , and Washington has called on the three states to withdraw what it has called their `` intolerable '' support for him .
Moscow in March 2019 undertook a show of force in the South American country , landing two Russian military planes in Caracas as part of military cooperation between the two countries .
In his remarks to reporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moscow for its support of the embattled president .
`` As several administration officials have noted , the Russians may soon find that their continued support of Maduro will no longer be cost-free , '' the envoy said , while adding that others who profit from supporting Maduro should also take notice .
Abrams ' comments came a day after Guaido met with President Donald Trump at the White House , leading to a warning by the U.S. diplomat to the Venezuelan government against preventing Guaido from returning safely back home .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calculation , particularly after this trip , that the support for Guaido is strong and that the counter-reaction to any move against him would make it a mistake for the regime , '' Abrams said .
`` We 're very concerned about it and we hope that he will return safely , '' he told reporters .
Guaido , who met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on February 6 , did not answer reporters ' questions about his plans to return home .
Lavrov , on a visit to Mexico , blasted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` useful '' and said Washington 's threats against Venezuela were counterproductive .
`` No one can solve the problems of Venezuelans for them , but others may very well try to prevent them from negotiating .
We see such attempts aimed at setting a pretext for a military intervention , '' Lavrov said , according to Russian state news agency TASS .
`` Russia and Mexico agree that this will be categorically unacceptable , '' Lavrov added .
With reporting by Reuters , AFP , and TASS

The United States and Russia have exchanged harsh words over Venezuela, where Moscow supports a president considered illegitimate by the United States and some 50 other countries.
Elliott Abrams, the U.S. special representative for the South American country, warned Russia on February 6 over its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying its backing for the embattled leader could cease to be "cost-free."
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela, criticizing what he called Washington's "provocations" and attempts to create a pretext for military intervention.
Venezuela is in the midst of a political crisis after months of anti-government street protests against Maduro, who was sworn in for a second term in January 2019 following elections in May 2018 that were marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging.
Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country under his rule, which has been marked by economic woes and humanitarian disaster.
The opposition has accused the socialist Maduro of mismanaging the economy, sending the country into an economic crisis. Maduro has blamed outsiders, including the United States, for creating the crisis.
The United States and more than 50 other countries have recognized opposition figure Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim leader of Venezuela.
Russia, Cuba, and China continue to back Maduro, and Washington has called on the three states to withdraw what it has called their "intolerable" support for him.
Moscow in March 2019 undertook a show of force in the South American country, landing two Russian military planes in Caracas as part of military cooperation between the two countries.
In his remarks to reporters, Abrams hinted at possible sanctions against Moscow for its support of the embattled president.
"As several administration officials have noted, the Russians may soon find that their continued support of Maduro will no longer be cost-free," the envoy said, while adding that others who profit from supporting Maduro should also take notice.
Abrams' comments came a day after Guaido met with President Donald Trump at the White House, leading to a warning by the U.S. diplomat to the Venezuelan government against preventing Guaido from returning safely back home.
"We hope that the regime makes the calculation, particularly after this trip, that the support for Guaido is strong and that the counter-reaction to any move against him would make it a mistake for the regime," Abrams said.
"We're very concerned about it and we hope that he will return safely," he told reporters.
Guaido, who met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on February 6, did not answer reporters' questions about his plans to return home.
Lavrov, on a visit to Mexico, blasted U.S. attempts to remove Maduro as not "useful" and said Washington's threats against Venezuela were counterproductive.
"No one can solve the problems of Venezuelans for them, but others may very well try to prevent them from negotiating. We see such attempts aimed at setting a pretext for a military intervention," Lavrov said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
"Russia and Mexico agree that this will be categorically unacceptable," Lavrov added.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and TASS


rferl--2020-02-07--Prague To Rename Square By Russian Embassy After Nemtsov

Prague is expected to rename a square where the Russian Embassy is located after slain Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov .
Czech media reported on February 7 that the Prague city council could vote on the measure later this month and Pod Kastany Square could be officially renamed on February 27 -- the fifth anniversary of Nemtsov 's killing .
The major parties represented in the Prague city council have voiced support for the move .
In February 2018 , Boris Nemtsov Plaza was officially unveiled outside the Russian Embassy in Washington , followed by a similar move in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the squares triggered criticism from Moscow .
А former deputy prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin , Nemtsov was an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin , and had sought to build a viable opposition movement .
He was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in February 2015 .
In July 2017 , a Moscow court found five men from Russia 's North Caucasus region of Chechnya guilty of Nemtsov 's murder and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms .
But Nemtsov ’ s relatives and associates believe his killing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and say justice will not be served until the person or people behind it are identified and prosecuted .
Based on reporting by AFP and Aktualne.cz

Prague is expected to rename a square where the Russian Embassy is located after slain Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.
Czech media reported on February 7 that the Prague city council could vote on the measure later this month and Pod Kastany Square could be officially renamed on February 27 -- the fifth anniversary of Nemtsov's killing.
The major parties represented in the Prague city council have voiced support for the move.
In February 2018, Boris Nemtsov Plaza was officially unveiled outside the Russian Embassy in Washington, followed by a similar move in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
The renaming of the squares triggered criticism from Moscow.
А former deputy prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin, Nemtsov was an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, and had sought to build a viable opposition movement. He was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in February 2015.
In July 2017, a Moscow court found five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya guilty of Nemtsov's murder and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms.
But Nemtsov’s relatives and associates believe his killing was ordered at a higher level, and say justice will not be served until the person or people behind it are identified and prosecuted.
Based on reporting by AFP and Aktualne.cz


rferl--2020-02-07--New Kosovo PM Says Ties With Serbia Should Be Based On 'Symmetry'

PRISTINA -- Kosovo ’ s new prime minister says he intends to abolish punitive tariffs on Serbian goods , as the two countries struggle amid an international push for them to establish diplomatic relations .
But Albin Kurti cautioned that he would only lift the 100-percent tariffs imposed two years ago after his government introduces measures of `` reciprocity '' in trade , politics , and economy .
`` It is not that we will remove the tariffs without introducing reciprocity , but we will introduce reciprocity and then we will lift the tariffs , '' Kurti said in an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kurti , whose government was approved by parliament on February 3 , suggested that Kosovo may stop recognizing driving licenses for Serbian truck drivers .
“ Our truck drivers were fined hundreds of euros in Serbia because their drivers ’ licenses were not recognized , ” he said .
Kosovo , a former Serbian province , unilaterally declared independence in 2008 .
The move has been recognized by more than 110 countries but not by Serbia .
Both the European Union and United States have made reconciliation between the two countries a priority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development .
But dialogue is stalled in part over Pristina 's imposition of the 100-percent tariffs in 2018 .
Belgrade has been lobbying for countries to reverse their recognition of Kosovo and it has sought to block Kosovo from joining international organizations .
`` For us , it is unacceptable not to have symmetry in our relations , '' Kurti said .
`` We consider this to be a healthy principle for constructive , bilateral , neighborly relations . ''
Kurti said he would lead Kosovo 's team for negotiations with Serbia .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said he wants the Kosovar and Serbian teams to first discuss the agenda with European Union representatives .
`` I believe we don ’ t have the luxury to fail again in the dialogue , '' he said .
Kurti said an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia would `` help the perspective of economic development '' in the region .
He also pledged to tackle poverty as well as crime and corruption , which is endemic in the country .

PRISTINA -- Kosovo’s new prime minister says he intends to abolish punitive tariffs on Serbian goods, as the two countries struggle amid an international push for them to establish diplomatic relations.
But Albin Kurti cautioned that he would only lift the 100-percent tariffs imposed two years ago after his government introduces measures of "reciprocity" in trade, politics, and economy.
"It is not that we will remove the tariffs without introducing reciprocity, but we will introduce reciprocity and then we will lift the tariffs," Kurti said in an interview on February 7 with RFE/RL.
Kurti, whose government was approved by parliament on February 3, suggested that Kosovo may stop recognizing driving licenses for Serbian truck drivers.
“Our truck drivers were fined hundreds of euros in Serbia because their drivers’ licenses were not recognized,” he said.
Kosovo, a former Serbian province, unilaterally declared independence in 2008. The move has been recognized by more than 110 countries but not by Serbia.
Both the European Union and United States have made reconciliation between the two countries a priority, saying it was key to economic development. But dialogue is stalled in part over Pristina's imposition of the 100-percent tariffs in 2018.
Belgrade has been lobbying for countries to reverse their recognition of Kosovo and it has sought to block Kosovo from joining international organizations.
"For us, it is unacceptable not to have symmetry in our relations," Kurti said. "We consider this to be a healthy principle for constructive, bilateral, neighborly relations."
Kurti said he would lead Kosovo's team for negotiations with Serbia. But for the talks to resume, he said he wants the Kosovar and Serbian teams to first discuss the agenda with European Union representatives.
"I believe we don’t have the luxury to fail again in the dialogue," he said.
Kurti said an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia would "help the perspective of economic development" in the region. He also pledged to tackle poverty as well as crime and corruption, which is endemic in the country.


rferl--2020-02-07--Russian Foreign Minister Holds Talks With Venezuelan President Amid U.S. Sanctions Warning

Russia 's foreign minister is visiting Venezuela in a show of support for Nicolas Maduro , as Moscow tries to bolster the South American country 's president amid a collapsing economy and the threat of more U.S. sanctions .
Sergei Lavrov 's visit on February 7 followed suggestions from the U.S. State Department that Washington might expand Venezuela-targeted sanctions to include Russian oil companies that have helped Maduro .
Speaking at a joint press conference in Caracas after talks with Maduro , Lavrov vowed to boost bilateral trade between the two countries and to develop cooperation in the energy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
During an earlier televised meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart , Jorge Arreaza , Lavrov slammed U.S. sanctions against Venezuela as `` unacceptable '' Earlier in the week , U.S. President Donald Trump hosted opposition leader Juan Guaido at the White House .
Guaido is recognized by nearly five dozen countries as Venezuela 's rightful president .
During Guaido 's visit , Trump stressed Washington ’ s commitment to ending what he called the `` corrupt and violent dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro . ''
`` Maduro 's grip on tyranny will be smashed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a speech .
Lavrov arrived in Caracas on February 6 , the same day that the U.S. special representative to Venezuela warned that Russia 's support for Maduro 's government may `` no longer be cost free . ''
`` The rules about sanctions can always change , '' Elliott Abrams told reporters in Washington .
`` The licenses that are given can be withheld ; those that are withheld can be given . ''
Existing U.S. sanctions include exceptions that allow U.S. companies like Chevron to continue buying Venezuelan oil .
Rosneft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ works closely with its Venezuelan counterpart , Petroleos de Venezuela , in South America .
Venezuela 's once-bustling economy has all but collapsed , fueling inflation that has neared 10,000 percent .
According to the UN , millions have fled the country looking for food and employment .
Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa

Russia's foreign minister is visiting Venezuela in a show of support for Nicolas Maduro, as Moscow tries to bolster the South American country's president amid a collapsing economy and the threat of more U.S. sanctions.
Sergei Lavrov's visit on February 7 followed suggestions from the U.S. State Department that Washington might expand Venezuela-targeted sanctions to include Russian oil companies that have helped Maduro.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Caracas after talks with Maduro, Lavrov vowed to boost bilateral trade between the two countries and to develop cooperation in the energy, mining, medical, and agricultural sectors.
During an earlier televised meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, Lavrov slammed U.S. sanctions against Venezuela as "unacceptable."
Earlier in the week, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted opposition leader Juan Guaido at the White House. Guaido is recognized by nearly five dozen countries as Venezuela's rightful president.
During Guaido's visit, Trump stressed Washington’s commitment to ending what he called the "corrupt and violent dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro."
"Maduro's grip on tyranny will be smashed and broken," Trump said in a speech.
Lavrov arrived in Caracas on February 6, the same day that the U.S. special representative to Venezuela warned that Russia's support for Maduro's government may "no longer be cost free."
"The rules about sanctions can always change," Elliott Abrams told reporters in Washington. "The licenses that are given can be withheld, those that are withheld can be given."
Existing U.S. sanctions include exceptions that allow U.S. companies like Chevron to continue buying Venezuelan oil.
Rosneft, the Russian state oil giant, works closely with its Venezuelan counterpart, Petroleos de Venezuela, in South America.
Venezuela's once-bustling economy has all but collapsed, fueling inflation that has neared 10,000 percent. According to the UN, millions have fled the country looking for food and employment.
With reporting by Reuters and dpa


rferl--2020-02-07--Lukashenka, Putin Meet For Tense Talks Over Integration, Oil Supplies

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has met with his Russian counterpart , Vladimir Putin , for talks expected to focus on Belarus 's recent overtures to the United States and Russia 's increasing economic pressure on Minsk .
A day ahead of their February 7 meeting outside the Black Sea resort of Sochi , Lukashenka complained at a cabinet meeting about Russian supplies of crude oil , an import that for years has played a major role in the Belarusian economy .
Putin 's deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak said late in the day that oil could be supplied to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said a deal had been reached to supply natural gas for this year at the same price as in 2019 -- $ 127 per 1,000 cubic meters .
Lukashenka and Putin also agreed that talks on integration would continue , according to Kozak .
The two leaders took an evening break to play a game of ice hockey , according to the Kremlin .
Lukashenka , who has been in power in Belarus for more than 25 years , has faced growing pressure from Moscow in recent years to agree to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Union State .
The two leaders in December were supposed to sign a road map laying out concrete steps toward the Union State , but Lukashenka balked .
Since then , Russia has sent strong signals to Minsk , mainly in the form of reduced oil supplies and higher prices .
Revenues from refined Belarusian oil products sold to European markets have long been a major economic driver for the country .
Last week , U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the highest-level U.S. official to visit Minsk in more than two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were characterized by U.S. officials as cordial , Pompeo suggested that the United States could supply Belarus with plenty of oil .
Belarusian officials said the country has lost $ 300 million since last year , when Russia began cutting oil subsidies and raising prices .

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, made little reported progress during talks on the thorny issues of energy prices and closer integration.
The two met at Putin’s residence in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on February 7 amid increasing economic pressure by Moscow on Minsk.
The Kremlin has argued that Belarus, which relies on cheap Russian energy, should accept greater economic integration if it wants to continue receiving Russian oil and gas at subsidized prices.
Putin and Lukashenka made no official statements to the press following hours of direct talks and discussions including aides.
Late on February 7, Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Dmitry Kozak, said that oil, which Russia cut off at the start of the year, could be delivered to Belarus only at market prices.
He did, however, add that a deal had been reached to supply natural gas for this year at the same price as in 2019 -- $127 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Belarusian officials said the country has lost $300 million since last year, when Russia began cutting oil subsidies and raising prices.
Lukashenka and Putin also agreed that talks on integration would continue, according to Kozak.
The two leaders took an evening break to play a game of ice hockey, according to the Kremlin.
Lukashenka, who has been in power in Belarus for more than 25 years, has faced growing pressure from Moscow in recent years to agree to deeper integration under a union agreement signed in 1997 that envisaged close political, economic, and military ties, but stopped short of forming a single nation.
The two leaders in December were supposed to sign a series of road maps laying out concrete steps toward the Union State, but Lukashenka balked.
Since then, Russia has sent strong signals to Minsk, mainly in the form of reduced oil supplies and higher prices. Revenues from refined Belarusian oil products sold to European markets have long been a major economic driver for the country.
In his annual press conference in December, Putin said he saw no point in providing Belarus with a gas discount until the integration project had advanced.
“Decisions which were made at the time related to a buildup of the union state. At best, the key decisions were not implemented. Simply speaking, 90 percent has not been done,” he said.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the highest-level U.S. official to visit Minsk in more than two decades. During the talks, which were characterized by U.S. officials as cordial, Pompeo suggested that the United States could supply Belarus with plenty of oil.
The United States and Belarus began to reconsider their frosty relationship after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and began supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine, raising concerns about Belarus’s own territorial integrity.
With reporting by AP


rferl--2020-02-07--Lawyers Of Ukrainian Army Medic Suspected In Sheremet Murder Case Say They Have 'Proof' Of Her Innoc

Lawyers Of Ukrainian Army Medic Suspected In Sheremet Murder Case Say They Have 'Proof' Of Her Innocence

Lawyers of a Ukrainian Army medic suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet say they have `` additional proof '' that their client had nothing to do with the high-profile killing .
Sheremet was killed on July 20 , 2016 , when an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle he was driving exploded .
Investigators suspect military medic Yana Duhar and two other people of involvement in the killing , all of them with ties to the war taking place in eastern Ukraine .
Duhar 's lawyers , Mykola Orekhovskiy and Vitaliy Kolomiyets , told reporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provided the Prosecutor-General 's Office with materials that `` prove '' their client had not been involved in Sheremet 's assassination .
The materials included the results of a lie detector test , they said .
The lawyers said the investigators had `` mistakenly '' identified a person recorded on CCTV camera monitoring Sheremet 's apartment block a day before his killing as their client .
Independent forensic tests `` proved that the person on the tape is 10 centimeters higher '' than Duhar , they said .
Sheremet was a Belarusian-born Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home .
His killing underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others who challenge the Ukrainian authorities , while the government has faced persistent criticism over a perceived lack of progress in solving the case .
Those suspected in the case also include former special operations Sergeant Andriy Antonenko and pediatric surgeon and volunteer Yuliya Kuzmenko .
Police have also named a couple as persons of interest in the investigation : Inna and Vladyslav Hryshchenko .
On January 30 , Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka said additional evidence is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ volume of compiled evidence isn ’ t enough . ''
Sheremet 's mother , Lyudmila Sheremet , told RFE/RL in December that she did not know if the suspects are guilty or not , but she was afraid `` that innocent people may be hurt '' as officials try to show they 're making headway in the case .

Lawyers of a Ukrainian Army medic suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet say they have "additional proof" that their client had nothing to do with the high-profile killing.
Sheremet was killed on July 20, 2016, when an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle he was driving exploded.
Investigators suspect military medic Yana Duhar and two other people of involvement in the killing, all of them with ties to the war taking place in eastern Ukraine.
Duhar's lawyers, Mykola Orekhovskiy and Vitaliy Kolomiyets, told reporters in Kyiv on February 7 that they provided the Prosecutor-General's Office with materials that "prove" their client had not been involved in Sheremet's assassination.
The materials included the results of a lie detector test, they said.
The lawyers said the investigators had "mistakenly" identified a person recorded on CCTV camera monitoring Sheremet's apartment block a day before his killing as their client.
Independent forensic tests "proved that the person on the tape is 10 centimeters higher" than Duhar, they said.
Sheremet was a Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had made Kyiv his permanent home.
His killing underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others who challenge the Ukrainian authorities, while the government has faced persistent criticism over a perceived lack of progress in solving the case.
Those suspected in the case also include former special operations Sergeant Andriy Antonenko and pediatric surgeon and volunteer Yuliya Kuzmenko.
Police have also named a couple as persons of interest in the investigation: Inna and Vladyslav Hryshchenko.
On January 30, Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka said additional evidence is needed for the case as "the volume of compiled evidence isn’t enough."
Sheremet's mother, Lyudmila Sheremet, told RFE/RL in December that she did not know if the suspects are guilty or not, but she was afraid "that innocent people may be hurt" as officials try to show they're making headway in the case.


rferl--2020-02-07--CPJ Denounces 'Absurd' Charges Against Jailed Independent Tajik Journalist

The Committee to Protect Journalists ( CPJ ) is urging Tajikistan to immediately release independent journalist Daler Sharifov from custody , drop the `` absurd '' incitement charges against him , and allow him to continue his reporting .
`` Tajik officials have already driven nearly all independent voices out of the country , so this prosecution is a clear attempt to silence ahead of elections one of the few media critics that remain , '' Gulnoza Said , CPJ ’ s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator , said in a statement on February 6 .
Sharifov , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ known for his criticism of Tajikistan ’ s authorities , has been in custody since January 28 , relatives told RFE/RL .
Police also searched his apartment in the capital , Dushanbe , and confiscated a computer and several books .
A court ruled on January 30 to place the 32-year-old journalist in pretrial detention for two months , according to his lawyer , Abdurahmon Sharifov , who is no relation .
The Prosecutor-General 's Office later announced that Sharifov had been charged with inciting ethnic , racial , and religious hatred .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 200 articles and commentaries containing extremist content '' Sharifov published between 2013 and 2019 , it said .
He could be jailed for up to five years if found guilty .

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is urging Tajikistan to immediately release independent journalist Daler Sharifov from custody, drop the "absurd" incitement charges against him, and allow him to continue his reporting.
"Tajik officials have already driven nearly all independent voices out of the country, so this prosecution is a clear attempt to silence ahead of elections one of the few media critics that remain," Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in a statement on February 6.
Sharifov, who often writes about domestic politics and is known for his criticism of Tajikistan’s authorities, has been in custody since January 28, relatives told RFE/RL.
Police also searched his apartment in the capital, Dushanbe, and confiscated a computer and several books.
A court ruled on January 30 to place the 32-year-old journalist in pretrial detention for two months, according to his lawyer, Abdurahmon Sharifov, who is no relation.
The Prosecutor-General's Office later announced that Sharifov had been charged with inciting ethnic, racial, and religious hatred.
The charges stemmed from "more than 200 articles and commentaries containing extremist content" Sharifov published between 2013 and 2019, it said.
He could be jailed for up to five years if found guilty.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Tajik Service


rferl--2020-02-07--Controversial Georgian Ex-Prosecutor-General Nominated To Regain Post

TBILISI -- Georgia 's prosecutorial council has nominated former Prosecutor-General Irakli Shotadze to take back the post , despite opposition @ @ @ @ @ Eleven council members voted in favor of Shotadze , while one voted against his nomination @ @ @ @ @ the support of 76 lawmakers in the 150-seat parliament to be confirmed as the new @ @ @ @ @ January , the Tbilisi-based Human Rights and Monitoring Center called on the prosecutorial council not @ @ @ @ @ post , arguing that individuals should not be reappointed to a position at which they @ @ @ @ @ became vacant in December after then-Prosecutor-General Shalva Tadumadze was confirmed as Supreme Court justice .
@ @ @ @ @ South Caucasus nation 's prosecutor-general in 2015-2018 .
He had to resign in March 2018 @ @ @ @ @ protests over an incident in Tbilisi in which two teenagers were killed .
With reporting @ @ @ @

TBILISI -- Georgia's prosecutorial council has nominated former Prosecutor-General Irakli Shotadze to take back the post, despite opposition from human rights defenders.
Eleven council members voted in favor of Shotadze, while one voted against his nomination.
He will now need the support of 76 lawmakers in the 150-seat parliament to be confirmed as the new prosecutor-general.
Earlier, in January, the Tbilisi-based Human Rights and Monitoring Center called on the prosecutorial council not to renominate Shotadze to the post, arguing that individuals should not be reappointed to a position at which they had failed.
The post became vacant in December after then-Prosecutor-General Shalva Tadumadze was confirmed as Supreme Court justice.
Shotadze previously worked as the South Caucasus nation's prosecutor-general in 2015-2018.
He had to resign in March 2018 in the wake of mass protests over an incident in Tbilisi in which two teenagers were killed.
With reporting by civil.ge and apsny.ge


rferl--2020-02-07--Tajikistan Plans To Cut Military Service Term By Six Months

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan is aiming to cut the term of mandatory military service from two years to 18 months , @ @ @ @ @ has said .
Abdumannon Kholiqzoda told reporters on February 7 that the proposed change is @ @ @ @ @ the law on mandatory military service that the Justice Ministry has sent to the presidential @ @ @ @ @ to be further discussed by representatives of other ministries and state entities , Kholiqzoda said @ @ @ @ @ , one of the goals of the reform is to put an end to mass @ @ @ @ @ agencies to try to locate young men evading military service .
In Tajikistan , conscripts @ @ @ @ @ twice a year , in spring and autumn .
Each time at least 15,000 men @ @ @ @ @ join the armed forces .
Exemptions from military duty are given to full-time university students @ @ @ @ @ families , married men with more than one child , and individuals unfit for service @ @ @ @

DUSHANBE -- Tajikistan is aiming to cut the term of mandatory military service from two years to 18 months, the country's justice minister has said.
Abdumannon Kholiqzoda told reporters on February 7 that the proposed change is included in draft amendments to the law on mandatory military service that the Justice Ministry has sent to the presidential office.
The proposal is to be further discussed by representatives of other ministries and state entities, Kholiqzoda said.
According to the minister, one of the goals of the reform is to put an end to mass raids conducted by law enforcement agencies to try to locate young men evading military service.
In Tajikistan, conscripts are drafted to the army twice a year, in spring and autumn. Each time at least 15,000 men aged between 18 and 27 join the armed forces.
Exemptions from military duty are given to full-time university students, the sole sons in families, married men with more than one child, and individuals unfit for service for medical reasons.


rferl--2020-02-07--Moscow Jury Acquits Man Of Murdering Gay Despite Confession

A jury in a Moscow court has acquitted a man charged with murder after stabbing to death a gay man that the accused has admitted to attacking with a knife .
Artyom Lapov , a lawyer from the gay rights group Stimul , said on February 7 that jurors at the trial at the Basmanny district court found Anton Berezhnoi not guilty of murder in the beating of Roman Yedalov , instead convicting him of a lesser charge of assault .
Investigators say Berezhnoi attacked Yedalov and his partner , Yevgeny Yefimov , at a railway station in Moscow on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insulting them over their sexual orientation .
Yefimov suffered minor injuries in the attack .
Berezhnoi admitted during the trial to attacking the couple , but said that he did not intend to kill Yedalov .
He said the victim died after falling on the knife used in the assault .
The court is scheduled to hand down its sentence on the lesser charge in the coming days .
Although homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993 , anti-gay sentiment among many Russians remains strong and attacks against homosexuals across the country occur @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Novaya Gazeta and Meduza

A jury in a Moscow court has acquitted a man charged with murder after stabbing to death a gay man that the accused has admitted to attacking with a knife.
Artyom Lapov, a lawyer from the gay rights group Stimul, said on February 7 that jurors at the trial at the Basmanny district court found Anton Berezhnoi not guilty of murder in the beating of Roman Yedalov, instead convicting him of a lesser charge of assault.
Investigators say Berezhnoi attacked Yedalov and his partner, Yevgeny Yefimov, at a railway station in Moscow on June 29, 2019, while verbally insulting them over their sexual orientation.
Yefimov suffered minor injuries in the attack.
Berezhnoi admitted during the trial to attacking the couple, but said that he did not intend to kill Yedalov. He said the victim died after falling on the knife used in the assault.
The court is scheduled to hand down its sentence on the lesser charge in the coming days.
Although homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, anti-gay sentiment among many Russians remains strong and attacks against homosexuals across the country occur on a regular basis.
With reporting by Novaya Gazeta and Meduza


rferl--2020-02-07--Pakistani Lawmakers Support Public Hanging For Pedophiles

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan ’ s lower house of parliament has adopted a nonbinding resolution calling for public hangings of people convicted of the sexual abuse and murder of children -- a move that was condemned by the opposition and human rights activists .
`` Those who commit crimes against children deserve no mercy ...
They should be hanged in the middle of cities , '' Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said on February 7 after presenting the resolution in the National Assembly .
More than half of the lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution , which was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Pakistan People 's Party ( PPP ) opposed the text , saying that ramping up the severity of punishments would not result in a reduction of sexual abuse of children .
There has been a spike in sexual crimes against children in Pakistan in recent years , triggering street protests and national condemnation , but convictions are rare .
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry , who is also a National Assembly member , described the resolution as `` just another grave act in line with brutal civilization practices.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the answer for the sexual abuse and murder of children , and called public hangings `` acts of unconscionable cruelty '' that have `` no place in a rights-respecting society . ''
Pakistan lifted a seven-year unofficial moratorium on the death penalty after Islamist militants killed more than 150 people , mostly children , at a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December 2014 .
Hundreds of prisoners on death row have since been hanged .
Executions `` do not deliver justice , '' Amnesty International 's Deputy South Asia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a statement .
`` They are acts of vengeance and there is no evidence that they serve as a uniquely effective deterrent . ''
Waraich urged the authorities to `` focus their energies on giving children in Pakistan the protection they desperately need through strong safeguarding policies and procedures before abuse happens . ''
Laws against sexual abuse should be enforced and the perpetrators of abuse against children be held to account through `` fair trials without recourse to the death penalty , '' he said .
Pakistan introduced a law in 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pornography .
The move came after a pedophilia scandal erupted in 2015 following revelations that hundreds of pornographic videos of children from a village in Punjab Province were being circulated .
Arrests were made , but only the acts of rape and sodomy were punishable by law at that time .
There were 3,832 reported cases of child abuse during 2018 , according to the nongovernmental organization Sahil .

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan’s lower house of parliament has adopted a nonbinding resolution calling for public hangings of people convicted of the sexual abuse and murder of children -- a move that was condemned by the opposition and human rights activists.
"Those who commit crimes against children deserve no mercy...They should be hanged in the middle of cities," Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said on February 7 after presenting the resolution in the National Assembly.
More than half of the lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution, which was supported by the ruling Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf party.
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) opposed the text, saying that ramping up the severity of punishments would not result in a reduction of sexual abuse of children.
There has been a spike in sexual crimes against children in Pakistan in recent years, triggering street protests and national condemnation, but convictions are rare.
Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, who is also a National Assembly member, described the resolution as "just another grave act in line with brutal civilization practices.”
Amnesty International said the death penalty was not the answer for the sexual abuse and murder of children, and called public hangings "acts of unconscionable cruelty" that have "no place in a rights-respecting society."
Pakistan lifted a seven-year unofficial moratorium on the death penalty after Islamist militants killed more than 150 people, mostly children, at a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December 2014.
Hundreds of prisoners on death row have since been hanged.
Executions "do not deliver justice," Amnesty International's Deputy South Asia Director, Omar Waraich, said in a statement. "They are acts of vengeance and there is no evidence that they serve as a uniquely effective deterrent."
Waraich urged the authorities to "focus their energies on giving children in Pakistan the protection they desperately need through strong safeguarding policies and procedures before abuse happens."
Laws against sexual abuse should be enforced and the perpetrators of abuse against children be held to account through "fair trials without recourse to the death penalty," he said.
Pakistan introduced a law in 2016 criminalizing sexual abuse against minors and child pornography.
The move came after a pedophilia scandal erupted in 2015 following revelations that hundreds of pornographic videos of children from a village in Punjab Province were being circulated. Arrests were made, but only the acts of rape and sodomy were punishable by law at that time.
There were 3,832 reported cases of child abuse during 2018, according to the nongovernmental organization Sahil.
With reporting by dpa


rferl--2020-02-07--Whistle-Blower Snowden Seeks Extension Of Russian Residence Permit, Says Lawyer

Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden , who was granted asylum in Russia , is preparing to apply for the extension of his Russian residence permit which expires in April , his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Russian media on February 7 .
Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013 after he revealed details of secret surveillance programs by U.S. intelligence agencies .
`` At Edward 's request , I am drawing up documents for the Russian Interior Ministry migration service to extend his residence permit , '' Kucherena said .
Snowden was charged under the U.S .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ documents from the NSA on government surveillance , prompting public debate about the legality of some of the agency ’ s programs , on privacy concerns , and about the United States snooping on its neighbors .
If convicted , Snowden faces up to 30 years in prison .
In September , Snowden called on French President Emmanuel Macron to grant him asylum .
The French presidency did not comment .
Snowden had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in France in 2013 and several other countries .
`` Everything is okay with him .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with him , '' Kucherena said .
Asked if Snowden plans to apply for Russian citizenship , Kucherena said , `` I have n't discussed this matter with him so far . ''
With reporting by ADP and Interfax

Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum in Russia, is preparing to apply for the extension of his Russian residence permit which expires in April, his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Russian media on February 7.
Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013 after he revealed details of secret surveillance programs by U.S. intelligence agencies.
"At Edward's request, I am drawing up documents for the Russian Interior Ministry migration service to extend his residence permit," Kucherena said.
Snowden was charged under the U.S. Espionage Act for leaking 1.5 million secret documents from the NSA on government surveillance, prompting public debate about the legality of some of the agency’s programs, on privacy concerns, and about the United States snooping on its neighbors.
If convicted, Snowden faces up to 30 years in prison.
In September, Snowden called on French President Emmanuel Macron to grant him asylum. The French presidency did not comment.
Snowden had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in France in 2013 and several other countries.
"Everything is okay with him. He is working. His wife is with him," Kucherena said.
Asked if Snowden plans to apply for Russian citizenship, Kucherena said, "I haven't discussed this matter with him so far."
With reporting by ADP and Interfax


rferl--2020-02-07--Bosnian Court Again Postpones Trial Over Alleged Organizers Of Violent 2018 Rally

A court in Bosnia-Herzegovina has for the fourth time postponed the trial of 13 people charged for their alleged role in protests that erupted over the death of a 21-year-old Bosnian Serb student two years ago .
The February 7 decision by the court in Banja Luka -- the largest city of the Serb-dominated part of Bosnia -- was the latest chapter in the case involving David Dragicevic , whose unsolved death has angered people .
Protests around Dragicevic 's killing and allegations that police have failed to investigate properly have tapped into local discontent over widespread corruption in Bosnia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obstructing law and order for allegedly organizing a thousands-strong rally in Banja Luka on December 30 , 2018 .
The rally turned violent , with clashes between protesters and riot police .
Dragicevic disappeared in Banja Luka on the night of March 18 , 2018 .
His body was found six days later in a river downstream .
Police and prosecutors have said that he drowned after being in a fight at a cafe .
They also said he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol .
However , Dragicevic ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tortured , and murdered .
They also accused police of involvement .
The Banja Luka court ruling on February 7 was the fourth time the trial has been delayed .
The court said proceedings could not continue because some of the accused who live abroad could not be served subpoenas .
Dragicevic 's father Davor , who is among the 13 accused , helped organize demonstrations in Banja Luka and other Bosnian cities and towns to protest authorities ' alleged failure to solve the murder .
He went into hiding late last year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him .
Ozren Perduv , a member of the Justice for David movement , told RFE/RL that the accused are charged with interrupting a New Year 's concert by a popular Balkan singer , but he insisted the concert never took place .
Milorad Dodik , the Serb member of Bosnia 's multi-ethnic presidency , has called the protests “ politically motivated ” and denied any wrongdoing by police .

A court in Bosnia-Herzegovina has for the fourth time postponed the trial of 13 people charged for their alleged role in protests that erupted over the death of a 21-year-old Bosnian Serb student two years ago.
The February 7 decision by the court in Banja Luka -- the largest city of the Serb-dominated part of Bosnia -- was the latest chapter in the case involving David Dragicevic, whose unsolved death has angered people.
Protests around Dragicevic's killing and allegations that police have failed to investigate properly have tapped into local discontent over widespread corruption in Bosnia.
The 13 co-defendants are charged with obstructing law and order for allegedly organizing a thousands-strong rally in Banja Luka on December 30, 2018. The rally turned violent, with clashes between protesters and riot police.
Dragicevic disappeared in Banja Luka on the night of March 18, 2018. His body was found six days later in a river downstream.
Police and prosecutors have said that he drowned after being in a fight at a cafe. They also said he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
However, Dragicevic’s parents have said he was abducted, tortured, and murdered. They also accused police of involvement.
The Banja Luka court ruling on February 7 was the fourth time the trial has been delayed. The court said proceedings could not continue because some of the accused who live abroad could not be served subpoenas.
Dragicevic's father Davor, who is among the 13 accused, helped organize demonstrations in Banja Luka and other Bosnian cities and towns to protest authorities' alleged failure to solve the murder. He went into hiding late last year after an arrest warrant was issued for him.
Ozren Perduv, a member of the Justice for David movement, told RFE/RL that the accused are charged with interrupting a New Year's concert by a popular Balkan singer, but he insisted the concert never took place.
Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia's multi-ethnic presidency, has called the protests “politically motivated” and denied any wrongdoing by police.


rferl--2020-02-07--EU Enlargement Commissioner Urges Montenegro To Speed Up Reforms, Engage In Dialogue

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi has told Montenegro 's leadership that the country needs to speed up the pace of reforms , especially in the area of rule of law and media freedom .
Varhelyi met in Podgorica with President Milo Djukanovic and Prime Minister Dusko Markovic on February 7 to discuss a new proposed methodology aimed at making the EU membership process more credible , predictable , and politically inclusive .
`` The work needs to accelerate , the reforms have to accelerate , especially in the area of rule of law and media freedom where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he said .
Varhelyi 's visit has come amid a political crisis sparked by the adoption in December of a new law on the freedom of religion .
The passage of the law last month has led to frequent protests organized by Montenegro 's Serbian Orthodox Church across the country as well as in neighboring Kosovo and Serbia .
It also triggered the cancellation of a planned visit to Montenegro by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic .
Montenegro 's Serbian Orthodox Church , its supporters , and pro-Serbian opposition parties fear the law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ church property , though officials deny they intend to .
Varhelyi called on all sides to resort to dialogue in order to find a solution acceptable for everybody in Montenegro .
`` We are interested in dialogue , '' he said .
`` If we could be of any help with that -- I don ’ t think we can -- we would be happy to help . ''
The EU official arrived in Montenegro from Serbia , where he held talks on February 6 in Belgrade with Vucic , who voiced support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by EU member states , the new methodology would automatically apply to Albania , Bosnia-Herzegovina , Kosovo , and North Macedonia .
Serbia and Montenegro , which have already started accession talks with Brussels , would be able to choose between the current approach and the new one .
`` My sympathies are with the new methodology , '' Vucic said on February 6 after talks with Varhelyi .
He said Serbia could benefit from the proposed plan , which would give member states a stronger role in accession talks and calls for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ However , backsliding or delays on required reforms could lead to a pause or reversal of the accession process , or even force EU hopefuls to restart entry talks in some policy areas .
Serbia would review the proposed reforms carefully before making a final decision , Vucic told a joint news conference with Varhelyi .
Varhelyi , who took office in December , said that EU enlargement in the Balkans was his `` greatest priority . ''
`` At the end of my term , I would like at least one country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' the Hungarian diplomat said .
With reporting by dpa and AFP

EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi has told Montenegro's leadership that the country needs to speed up the pace of reforms, especially in the area of rule of law and media freedom.
Varhelyi met in Podgorica with President Milo Djukanovic and Prime Minister Dusko Markovic on February 7 to discuss a new proposed methodology aimed at making the EU membership process more credible, predictable, and politically inclusive.
"The work needs to accelerate, the reforms have to accelerate, especially in the area of rule of law and media freedom where we have outstanding issues to address," he said.
Varhelyi's visit has come amid a political crisis sparked by the adoption in December of a new law on the freedom of religion.
The passage of the law last month has led to frequent protests organized by Montenegro's Serbian Orthodox Church across the country as well as in neighboring Kosovo and Serbia.
It also triggered the cancellation of a planned visit to Montenegro by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Montenegro's Serbian Orthodox Church, its supporters, and pro-Serbian opposition parties fear the law will enable the Montenegrin government to impound church property, though officials deny they intend to.
Varhelyi called on all sides to resort to dialogue in order to find a solution acceptable for everybody in Montenegro.
"We are interested in dialogue," he said. "If we could be of any help with that -- I don’t think we can -- we would be happy to help."
The EU official arrived in Montenegro from Serbia, where he held talks on February 6 in Belgrade with Vucic, who voiced support for the new methodology.
If approved by EU member states, the new methodology would automatically apply to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia.
Serbia and Montenegro, which have already started accession talks with Brussels, would be able to choose between the current approach and the new one.
"My sympathies are with the new methodology," Vucic said on February 6 after talks with Varhelyi.
He said Serbia could benefit from the proposed plan, which would give member states a stronger role in accession talks and calls for more incentives for well-performing aspirant states.
However, backsliding or delays on required reforms could lead to a pause or reversal of the accession process, or even force EU hopefuls to restart entry talks in some policy areas.
Serbia would review the proposed reforms carefully before making a final decision, Vucic told a joint news conference with Varhelyi.
Varhelyi, who took office in December, said that EU enlargement in the Balkans was his "greatest priority."
"At the end of my term, I would like at least one country from the region ready for accession," the Hungarian diplomat said.
With reporting by dpa and AFP


rferl--2020-02-09--Macedonians Await Oscars Verdict On Beekeeping Epic 'Honeyland'

Two million proud Macedonians will be holding their collective breath overnight on February 9-10 as the makers of a honey-drenched tale of tradition clashing with modernity make Oscars history with their unprecedented dual nomination .
The film Honeyland and its creators from North Macedonia have already won 30 international awards -- including three of the honors at last year 's prestigious Sundance Film Festival in the United States .
But no film had ever been nominated for best film in both the Documentary Feature and International Feature categories until Honeyland emerged on this year 's shortlists from the U.S. Academy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The winners will be announced in Hollywood 's most highly anticipated event , the Oscar ceremonies , broadcast from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 9 .
Filmmakers Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov reportedly were working on a conservation project when they met Hatidze Muratova , the unlikely Turkish-Macedonian traditional beekeeper at the center of the history-making documentary , in a remote region of their Balkan homeland .
Twenty-five-year-old Kotevska told RFE/RL 's Balkan Service that the environmental project , Honeyland , morphed into a powerful story of survival and nature @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week that Muratova was mobbed by adoring selfie hunters when she showed up for a dress fitting in North Macedonia 's capital , Skopje , before leaving for Hollywood and the Oscars ceremony .
`` People love her .
She has become a star , '' Georgiev said , according to AFP .
`` We have no option but to cope with it somehow . ''
With reporting by RFE/RL 's Balkan Service and AFP

Two million proud Macedonians will be holding their collective breath overnight on February 9-10 as the makers of a honey-drenched tale of tradition clashing with modernity make Oscars history with their unprecedented dual nomination.
The film Honeyland and its creators from North Macedonia have already won 30 international awards -- including three of the honors at last year's prestigious Sundance Film Festival in the United States.
But no film had ever been nominated for best film in both the documentary feature and international feature categories until Honeyland emerged on this year's shortlists from the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The winners will be announced in Hollywood's most highly anticipated event, the Oscar ceremonies, broadcast from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on February 9.
Filmmakers Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov reportedly were working on a conservation project when they met Hatidze Muratova, the unlikely Turkish-Macedonian traditional beekeeper at the center of the history-making documentary, in a remote region of their Balkan homeland.
Twenty-five-year-old Kotevska told RFE/RL's Balkan Service that the environmental project, Honeyland, morphed into a powerful story of survival and nature.
Honeyland producer Atanas Georgiev told AFP this week that Muratova was mobbed by adoring selfie hunters when she showed up for a dress fitting in North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, before leaving for Hollywood and the Oscars ceremony.
"People love her. She has become a star," Georgiev said, according to AFP. "We have no option but to cope with it somehow."
With reporting by RFE/RL's Balkan Service and AFP


rferl--2020-02-09--Belarus To Buy Russian Oil At 'Global Market' Prices

Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Dzmitry Krutoy has been quoted as saying Minsk will pay `` global market '' prices for oil from Russia this year .
`` The Russian side has agreed that Belarusian refineries will buy oil through agreements with Russian oil companies at prices that are set on the global market , '' Reuters quoted Krutoy as saying , according to Belarusian state BelTA news agency , on February 9 .
Belarus is heavily reliant on Moscow for cheap oil and billions in annual subsidies to prop up its Soviet-era economy .
Russian President Vladimir Putin and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported progress in talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on February 7 on the increasingly intertwined issues of energy prices and closer integration .
Lukashenka had predicted that meeting would present a `` moment of truth . ''
There was no official statement that emerged , but Putin ’ s deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak said late on February 7 that oil supplies , which Russia cut off at the start of the year , could be delivered to Belarus only at market prices .
He added that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gas -- which was also interrupted earlier this year but restarted -- for this year at the same price as in 2019 -- $ 127 per 1,000 cubic meters .
The unification talks pursuant to an unfulfilled 1999 agreement on forming a unified state have exacerbated tensions between the two and sparked protests on the streets of Minsk .
Lukashenka , who has been in power in Belarus for more than 25 years , has faced growing pressure from Moscow in recent years to agree to deeper integration under the unification agreement , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and military ties but stopped short of forming a single nation .
The two leaders in December were supposed to sign a series of road maps laying out concrete steps toward the union state , but Lukashenka balked .
Since then , Russia has sent strong signals to Minsk , mainly in the form of reduced oil supplies and higher prices .
Revenues from refined Belarusian oil products sold to European markets have long been a major economic driver for the country , which has a highly centralized economy with the exception of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State Mike Pompeo became the highest-level U.S. official to visit Minsk in more than two decades on February 1 .
During the talks , which were characterized by U.S. officials as cordial , Pompeo suggested that the United States could supply Belarus with plenty of oil .
Based on reporting by Reuters , BelTA , and Interfax

Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Dzmitry Krutoy has been quoted as saying Minsk will pay "global market" prices for oil from Russia this year.
"The Russian side has agreed that Belarusian refineries will buy oil through agreements with Russian oil companies at prices that are set on the global market," Reuters quoted Krutoy as saying, according to Belarusian state BelTA news agency, on February 9.
Belarus is heavily reliant on Moscow for cheap oil and billions in annual subsidies to prop up its Soviet-era economy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka reportedly made little reported progress in talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on February 7 on the increasingly intertwined issues of energy prices and closer integration.
Lukashenka had predicted that meeting would present a "moment of truth."
There was no official statement that emerged, but Putin’s deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak said late on February 7 that oil supplies, which Russia cut off at the start of the year, could be delivered to Belarus only at market prices.
He added that a deal had been reached to supply natural gas -- which was also interrupted earlier this year but restarted -- for this year at the same price as in 2019 -- $127 per 1,000 cubic meters.
The unification talks pursuant to an unfulfilled 1999 agreement on forming a unified state have exacerbated tensions between the two and sparked protests on the streets of Minsk.
Lukashenka, who has been in power in Belarus for more than 25 years, has faced growing pressure from Moscow in recent years to agree to deeper integration under the unification agreement, which envisaged close political, economic, and military ties but stopped short of forming a single nation.
The two leaders in December were supposed to sign a series of road maps laying out concrete steps toward the union state, but Lukashenka balked.
Since then, Russia has sent strong signals to Minsk, mainly in the form of reduced oil supplies and higher prices.
Revenues from refined Belarusian oil products sold to European markets have long been a major economic driver for the country, which has a highly centralized economy with the exception of a few sectors.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the highest-level U.S. official to visit Minsk in more than two decades on February 1. During the talks, which were characterized by U.S. officials as cordial, Pompeo suggested that the United States could supply Belarus with plenty of oil.
Based on reporting by Reuters, BelTA, and Interfax


rferl--2020-02-09--Russian Anti-Surveillance Activists Detained At Moscow Protest

MOSCOW -- Police in the Russian capital have detained a group of activists protesting against expanded government surveillance on February 9 after the demonstrators gathered outside the presidential administration with their faces demonstratively painted to evade facial-recognition tools .
The group , which refers to itself with a Russian-language social-media hashtag that roughly translates as “ Follow ” ( # следуй ) , launched a campaign last week against the government ’ s growing use of street-mounted technology to surveil citizens .
Inspired by a similar project in London , the Russian protesters are seeking to educate citizens on how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proliferating across Russia ’ s capital .
Alongside China and several Western states , Russia is rapidly becoming one of the world ’ s foremost developers of surveillance technology .
Several activists from the movement gathered at noon beside the presidential-administration building to paint their faces before embarking on a march through central Moscow to raise public attention .
It took less than 20 minutes for police to detain them .
“ We were applying face paint against facial recognition outside the presidential administration .
Everyone was detained , ” protest organizer Yekaterina @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police car .
Not long afterward , she informed subscribers to the group ’ s Telegram channel that a 2 p.m. lecture at a Moscow venue aimed at teaching others how to apply evasive face paint had been canceled “ to ensure the safety of all participants . ''

MOSCOW -- Police in the Russian capital have detained a group of activists protesting against expanded government surveillance on February 9 after the demonstrators gathered outside the presidential administration with their faces demonstratively painted to evade facial-recognition tools.
The group, which refers to itself with a Russian-language social-media hashtag that roughly translates as “Follow” (#следуй), launched a campaign last week against the government’s growing use of street-mounted technology to surveil citizens.
Inspired by a similar project in London, the Russian protesters are seeking to educate citizens on how they can defy the cameras that are proliferating across Russia’s capital.
Alongside China and several Western states, Russia is rapidly becoming one of the world’s foremost developers of surveillance technology.
Several activists from the movement gathered at noon beside the presidential-administration building to paint their faces before embarking on a march through central Moscow to raise public attention.
It took less than 20 minutes for police to detain them.
“We were applying face paint against facial recognition outside the presidential administration. Everyone was detained,” protest organizer Yekaterina Nenasheva wrote on Facebook from inside a police car.
Not long afterward, she informed subscribers to the group’s Telegram channel that a 2 p.m. lecture at a Moscow venue aimed at teaching others how to apply evasive face paint had been canceled “to ensure the safety of all participants."


rferl--2020-02-09--Son Of Afghan Ex-Vice President Killed In Shoot-Out At Family Compound

Police in the Afghan capital say a son of Mohammad Mohaqeq , the ethnic Hazara leader and second deputy to Afghanistan 's chief executive , has died after a gunfight broke out at the family home in Kabul on February 9 .
Mohaqeq is a former anti-Taliban mujahedin commander , a lawmaker in the Afghan parliament , and a key official under Afghan unity government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah .
“ Unfortunately , a clash broke out between Mohammad Mohaqeq ’ s sons at their house , '' Kabul police chief Sayed Mohammad Roshandil told RFE/RL 's Radio Free Afghanistan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his little brother , Baqir Mohaqeq , killing Baqir and [ contributing to violence in which ] eight other members of the family -- including Hussain Mohaqeq -- were injured.
” The other eight people were reportedly being treated at a local hospital .
Police have launched an investigation , the official said .
Mohaqeq ran unsuccessfully for president in 2004 and once served on the Afghan peace council tasked with reconciliation efforts .
After a fallout with the government in Kabul over perceived leniency toward Taliban insurgents , Mohaqeq joined the ticket @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential election in 2014 that ushered in a power-sharing deal between Abdullah and the current president , Ashraf Ghani .
That U.S.-brokered agreement installed Abdullah as chief executive in what has been a strained five-year coexistence between Ghani and Abdullah under a `` unity government . ''
Mohaqeq has served as Abdullah 's deputy chief executive throughout the deal 's existence .

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.


rferl--2020-02-09--Death Toll Rises To 10 From Ethnically Fueled Kazakh Clashes

Kazakh Deputy Interior Minister Aleksei Kalayichi has raised the death toll to 10 from ethnically fueled violence that erupted in a village in southern Kazakhstan late on February 7 and spread to nearby communities .
The clashes were some of the worst ethnic violence in years in the Zhambyl region , located about 130 kilometers west of Kazakhstan 's commercial capital , Almaty , and prompted authorities in the district of Kordai to declare a state of emergency .
It was unclear what sparked the incidents , which mostly appeared to pit ethnic Kazakhs against Dungans , a Muslim group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the scene and two more died despite emergency treatment , officials said early on February 9 .
Officials said 140 people sought medical treatment in Kazakhstan and two dozen more in neighboring Kyrgyzstan .
Thirty-nine more people reportedly remained hospitalized early on February 9 , including three officials who sustained gunshot wounds , according to Kalayichi .
WATCH : Hundreds Flee To Kyrgyzstan After Deadly Ethnic Clashes In Rural Kazakhstan Villagers reportedly attacked each other in groups , and bands of men torched homes , overturned cars , and sent hundreds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make up much of the population in Masanchi , which was the worst-hit village .
Several other outlying villages also reported clashes .
In an unscheduled televised appearance , President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev said he had ordered security agencies to prosecute those spreading hate speech and `` provocative rumors and disinformation . ''
Toqaev called for calm .
Kazakh law enforcement deployed riot police to the area on February 8 , hours after the initial fighting .
By February 9 , authorities said they believed around 300 people had taken part in the mob @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases , including for suspected murder .
RFE/RL correspondents reported long lines of police , holding riot shields and truncheons , along roads in the region .
On February 8 , groups of mainly ethnic Dungans could be seen lining up along the Kyrgyz side of the border , while on the other side of the border , Dungan people handed out food and offered medical assistance to those coming across .
Footage circulating on social media late on February 7 showed young men , some armed with clubs , marching along the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with buildings on fire .
Many of the videos could not be independently verified .
At a press conference in the Kazakh capital , Nur-Sultan , Interior Minister Erlan Turghymbaev said 30 homes , 15 shops , and 20 cars had been damaged in Masanchi , and other villages in the region .
One Kyrgyz source claimed thousands of people had fled across the border into Kyrgyzstan , but that information could not be independently verified by RFE/RL 's Kazakh Service .
Kyrgyz authorities were already strengthening border checks in an effort to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus that has killed more than 800 people in neighboring China .

Kazakh Deputy Interior Minister Aleksei Kalayichi has raised the death toll to 10 from ethnically fueled violence that erupted in a village in southern Kazakhstan late on February 7 and spread to nearby communities.
The clashes were some of the worst ethnic violence in years in the Zhambyl region, located about 130 kilometers west of Kazakhstan's commercial capital, Almaty, and prompted authorities in the district of Kordai to declare a state of emergency.
It was unclear what sparked the incidents, which mostly appeared to pit ethnic Kazakhs against Dungans, a Muslim group of Chinese origin.
Eight people died at the scene and two more died despite emergency treatment, officials said early on February 9.
Officials said 140 people sought medical treatment in Kazakhstan and two dozen more in neighboring Kyrgyzstan.
Thirty-nine more people reportedly remained hospitalized early on February 9, including three officials who sustained gunshot wounds, according to Kalayichi.
WATCH: Hundreds Flee To Kyrgyzstan After Deadly Ethnic Clashes In Rural Kazakhstan
Villagers reportedly attacked each other in groups, and bands of men torched homes, overturned cars, and sent hundreds of people fleeing into nearby Kyrgyzstan.
Dungans make up much of the population in Masanchi, which was the worst-hit village.
Several other outlying villages also reported clashes.
In an unscheduled televised appearance, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev said he had ordered security agencies to prosecute those spreading hate speech and "provocative rumors and disinformation."
Toqaev called for calm.
Kazakh law enforcement deployed riot police to the area on February 8, hours after the initial fighting.
By February 9, authorities said they believed around 300 people had taken part in the mob violence and they had already launched criminal cases, including for suspected murder.
RFE/RL correspondents reported long lines of police, holding riot shields and truncheons, along roads in the region.
On February 8, groups of mainly ethnic Dungans could be seen lining up along the Kyrgyz side of the border, while on the other side of the border, Dungan people handed out food and offered medical assistance to those coming across.
Footage circulating on social media late on February 7 showed young men, some armed with clubs, marching along the road of a village in the area with buildings on fire. Many of the videos could not be independently verified.
At a press conference in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan, Interior Minister Erlan Turghymbaev said 30 homes, 15 shops, and 20 cars had been damaged in Masanchi, and other villages in the region.
One Kyrgyz source claimed thousands of people had fled across the border into Kyrgyzstan, but that information could not be independently verified by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service.
Kyrgyz authorities were already strengthening border checks in an effort to combat the possible spread of the Wuhan coronavirus that has killed more than 800 people in neighboring China.
With reporting by Interfax