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Latest articles from Vladimir Socor
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Azerbaijan Preoccupied by Regional Trends Ahead of Its Presidential Election
Negotiating a phased withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s territory is the top national security priority for Baku. Recent trends in the region pose additional challenges to Azerbaijan in the run-up to its presidential election. These include: Russia’s growing clout, Armenia’s decision to join the... MORE
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European Companies Contracting to Buy Azerbaijani Gas
On September 19, in Baku, nine European energy companies signed contracts to purchase Azerbaijani natural gas from the Shah Deniz field, Phase Two of production.All nine contracts cover a period of 25 years, starting with the first gas flow into Europe from the Azerbaijani-led Trans-Anatolia... MORE
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Ivanishvili’s Resignation Intent: A Tacit Admission of Failure
Georgian Dream leader and Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili stipulated three principal goals in his quest for power (October 2011–October 2012) and as head of government (since November 2012). First, he vowed to remove President Mikheil Saakashvili and the United National Movement (UNM) from government and... MORE
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Georgia’s Political System Precarious as Ivanishvili Prepares to Resign
Georgia’s billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili insists he will resign from government and quit politics altogether after the October 27, 2013 presidential election. Ivanishvili first entered politics in October 2011, won the parliamentary elections and took over power at the head of his Georgian Dream... MORE
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Kazakhstan’s Kashagan Oil Project Set to Start Commercial Production
The international consortium developing Kazakhstan’s super-giant offshore oilfield Kashagan is now on course to start commercial production by October 1, the final deadline set by Kazakhstan’s government. Meeting that deadline will enable the consortium to avoid financial penalties that the government could have imposed in... MORE
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The End of ‘Complementarity’ in Armenia’s Foreign Policy
“Complementarity,” the term purportedly denoting Armenia’s policy of balance between Russia and the West, has reached the end of the road, and that end is Russia. Long assumed to be the guiding principle of Armenia’s foreign policy, “complementarity” has lost any meaning with Armenia’s decision... MORE
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Russia’s Customs Union Project Finds Acceptance in Armenia
Armenia’s move into Russia’s economic bloc, coupled with its military reliance on Russia, will conclusively reduce Armenia to the status of Russia’s satellite. Armenia’s snub to the European Union is comparable with the 1947 rejection of the Marshall Plan by the Moscow-dominated governments in Central... MORE
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Armenia Trades European Union Association for Russian Protection
On September 3, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Serzh Sargsyan (speaking in that order from Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence) announced their decision that Armenia would join the Russia-led blocs—the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. This decision at one stroke nullifies the Armenia–European Union Association and... MORE
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Implications of Armenia’s Russian and Eurasian Choice
President Serzh Sargsyan has decided that Armenia should join the Russia-led blocs, the Customs Union and the Eurasian Union, as part of a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sargsyan unveiled this decision to his own country from Moscow, alongside Putin, on September 3, and... MORE
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Armenia Chooses Russia and Eurasia over the European Union
On September 3, in Moscow, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia jointly sank Armenia’s association, trade and visa liberalization agreements with the European Union, which were due to be concluded at the Vilnius summit in November. Instead, Sargsyan announced his decision... MORE