On May 2-4, Moscow will host a major International AIDS conference that will focus on the virus's growth in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.  In an interview, Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, stated that "HIV is increasing more rapidly in Central Asia than in any other part of the world.'  Piot blames widespread injecting-drug use and prostitution for the virus's growing strength in the region.  The Moscow Conference will be attended by representatives from all the CA countries, and the issue HIV prevention, particularly regarding drug-use, will be "very high' on the agenda.

Matthew Bryza, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, spoke out in support of Gazprom's price hike for buying Central Asian gas and voiced his opposition to the creation of a Gas OPEC at a conference at Georgetown University.  Bryza stressed the importance of market forces in the supply of gas to Europe and argued that the extensive profits that Gazprom receives, has gone to "nefarious uses,' such as organized crime and providing a "disincentive for reform, be it of the countries along the supply chain, or Gazprom itself.'  This last remark was a clear accusation that Russia's control of the gas supply system has kept Central Asian states' authoritarian and corrupt leaders in place and protected.  These are some of the first comments by a US government official I have seen concerning Russia's recent increase in payments to CA gas producing states.