The US State Department seems disappointed, but not entirely surprised, by Yerevan’s April 22 suspension of Armenian-Turkish “normalization.” Assistant Secretary of State, Philip Gordon, in charge of this policy, finds solace in Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan’s decision to suspend, rather than terminate the effort; and... MORE

On April 22, Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan, announced a unilateral suspension of the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations –a process driven by the United States on its own terms of reference. In follow-up statements on April 24, Sargsyan interprets the goal of normalization as being... MORE

Army-General Yury Baluyevskiy, the Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council and former Chief of the General Staff told a roundtable in Moscow on April 16 that the modernization of military equipment and weapons must proceed at the rate of around ten percent annually. Nevertheless,... MORE

Russia’s new deal with Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) and gas prices has profound bilateral significance, as well as for the CIS and even Europe. It ratifies long-term Russian gains at the expense of all the other players and continues to solidify Moscow’s... MORE

On April 20, the Russian Investigative Committee announced that it was lifting criminal charges from the well-known Russian billionaire of Ingush descent, Mikhail Gutseriev. Ingushetia’s government welcomed the move and expressed its hope that Gutseriev would contribute to economic projects in the republic (Kommersant, April... MORE

The procedure of reporting to the State Duma on the government’s performance is meant to be a tough examination, but Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, turned it into an exhibition of the success of his leadership –which had allegedly delivered Russia from the economic crisis and... MORE

US officials claim that improving Turkish-Armenian relations and opening the border would change the whole atmosphere in the region and induce Yerevan to be flexible on troop withdrawal. Using this argument, Washington insists on separating the border-opening issue from the troop withdrawal issue, pressing for... MORE

Some 15 years ago Azerbaijan cast its lot in almost existential ways with the United States and Turkey. Although it was never strain-free in Washington, and fulfilled only a part of its strategic potential, the US-Azerbaijan relationship worked to mutual benefit on energy and international... MORE

With less than two months in office President, Viktor Yanukovych, has undermined a twenty year-old elite consensus on national security by, as EDM (November 3, 2009) forecast, introducing a far more pro-Russian essence to Ukrainian foreign policy than if Yulia Tymoshenko had been elected (EDM,... MORE

The Cossacks first appeared in the Caucasus as they fled their masters in Russia. Hiding in the foothills of the North Caucasus, they absorbed many elements of the lifestyle of the Caucasus highlanders (the Gortsy), from their garments and arms to adopting their mentality. As... MORE