Kavkazky Uzel reported on April 29 that unidentified attackers the previous evening fired an anti-tank grenade launcher at a group of servicemen who were guarding a train loaded with military equipment in Ingushetia’s Sunzha district. No one was hurt in the incident. On the evening... MORE

According to research by the Memorial human rights group, the number of kidnappings in Chechnya and people killed in violence in Ingushetia increased between January-April of this year, compared to the same period in 2008. Kavkazky Uzel reported on April 27 that, according to Memorial,... MORE

At the oil and gas conference just held in Baku, Industry and Energy Minister Natig Aliyev, confirmed that Azerbaijan strives for access to European markets as the main export destination for Azerbaijani gas and, potentially, for Turkmen gas via Azerbaijan to Europe (Turan, April 27).The... MORE

On April 22, the Foreign Ministries of Turkey, Armenia and Switzerland issued a joint announcement saying that Ankara and Yerevan had agreed to work toward improving their relations within the framework of a roadmap under Swiss auspices. United States' diplomats were also closely involved in... MORE

Armenia and Iran have agreed to deepen their already close relationship by pressing ahead with several large-scale commercial projects, mostly related to energy supplies. The two neighboring states formalized these plans during Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan's recent official visit to Tehran. Iranian leaders used the... MORE

The European Union's Special Representative for Moldova, Kalman Mizsei, has made notable headway in brokering a dialogue between rival political forces in an incendiary post-election situation. The EU's High Representative for the Common and Security Policy, Javier Solana, visited Chisinau on April 25 to endorse... MORE

As crowds dwindle to near-insignificance at the Tbilisi protest rallies, their leaders are abandoning the failed tactics of mass mobilization, shifting to new efforts designed to spark violence and blame it on the authorities. The daily protest rallies outside the Parliament building since April 9... MORE

Nearly six months after Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was appointed the new president in volatile Ingushetia, the violence in the republic has shown few signs of abating.“During the two days that I stayed in Ingushetia recently, ten attacks took place in the republic, including an attack on... MORE

The Russian authorities have been trying to present the cancellation of the counter-terrorist operation as a victory over unruly Chechnya (Interfax, April 16). Yet, some 18 years have passed since the Chechen people declared independence from Moscow in 1991. This small North Caucasian republic was... MORE