The 10th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF), held in Istanbul on May 10 – 13, was an important venue to demonstrate the transformation of the Turkish defense industry in recent years. Organized biannually since the 1990s, the event featured over 600 companies or company representatives... MORE

The militant opposition has launched its annual campaign to topple the Georgian government. One wing, describing itself as People’s Assembly, is holding daily street rallies in Tbilisi from May 21 onward; while the other wing, Georgian Party, has scheduled a “Day of Rage” for May... MORE

The Russian State Arms Program [Gosudarstvennaya Programma Vooruzheniya–GPV] to 2020 sets as its primary goal achieving 70 percent new weapons and equipment in the military inventory. This target appears increasingly unrealistic. On May 10, President Dmitry Medvedev berated senior officials for glacial progress in implementing... MORE

(Part One)Georgian-Israeli relations are in crisis, and the recent decision by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili not to pardon two Israeli businessmen jailed after a Georgian court found them guilty of bribery is not going to improve the situation in the near future. The incident has... MORE

On May 20, the Georgian parliament recognized the mass killings and deportations of Circassians from the North Caucasus in the nineteenth century as “genocide.” The resolution, which passed by a vote of 95 to 0, said that pre-planned “mass killings of the Circassians by Tsarist... MORE

The long press-conference that President Dmitry Medvedev held on May 18 was disappointing for every journalist and expert who had expected meaningful and substantive answers on the big questions that Russia is facing at this limbo-moment in the post-crisis-pre-crisis transition (Kommersant, Vedomosti, May 19; Nezavisimaya... MORE

Next month, Afghanistan may gain observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The organization considers this to be an appropriate step forward given that the Afghan people “gradually take over the responsibility for all key areas of life in the country, including ensuring the... MORE

The rebel Kavkaz Center website on May 17 posted the transcript of an interview with Doku Umarov, the Chechen rebel leader who is also “emir” of the Caucasus Emirate. Earlier, on May 11, Kavkaz Center denied rumors in the Russian press that Umarov was receiving... MORE

The Russian-led security alliance, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has pledged to face security challenges in Central Asia by boosting military cooperation. Russian military officials urged the grouping to boost their defense ties. The... MORE

As anticipated (EDM, April 26), Russia is offering its mediation services in Libya to capitalize on NATO’s predicament. The Russian government has invited emissaries from both Libyan sides, Tripoli and Benghazi, to Moscow for separate talks. Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, is using foreign dignitaries’... MORE