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Latest Articles about The Caucasus
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Chechens Protest Parole for Budanov
Some 2,000, people rallied in Chechnya on December 29 to protest the granting of parole to Yuri Budanov, the Russian colonel who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of an 18-year-old Chechen woman, Elza Kungaeva. According to the Associated Press, protesters... MORE
Website: Few Improvements in the North Caucasus in 2008
In a review of last year’s events in the North Caucasus, Kavkazky Uzel wrote on January 7 that 2008 saw neither “stabilization” nor a successful conclusion to “the war on separatism,” the “uprooting of extremism,” or an end to the problem of kidnapping. “This was... MORE
Azerbaijan Closes Foreign Radio Stations, but Fails to Give a Credible Reason
On December 30 the National TeleRadio Council of Azerbaijan made the long-awaited, hotly discussed, and politically polarizing decision on terminating the license for foreign radio stations in the country. This, most importantly, affected three popular radio stations: Radio Liberty, Voice of America, and BBC, as... MORE
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OSCE Mission in Georgia on Its Death Bed
With a sleight of its hand, Russia has run the OSCE out of South Ossetia. The mandate of the OSCE Mission in Georgia expired on January 1, because Russia blocked the routine annual extension of that mandate by the organization. This is only the latest... MORE
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Russia to OSCE: Recognize South Ossetia or Get Out
Russia is threatening to run the OSCE out of South Ossetia at the end of the year. Moscow will only relent if the OSCE recognizes the Russian-installed authorities as legitimate and treats Russian-occupied South Ossetia as an essentially sovereign state.The OSCE has maintained a monitoring... MORE
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Chechen Interior Minister Tries to Play Down the Insurgency
At a meeting with the heads of the combat detachments of Chechnya’s district and municipal internal affairs departments on December 5, Chechnya’s interior minister, Police Lieutenant General Ruslan Alkhanov, said that in the past month alone 10 members of the illegal armed formation were killed... MORE
Spain Agrees to Extradite Former Rebel Commander
Spain on December 13 agreed to extradite a Chechen wanted on terrorism charges, Murad Gasayev, to Russia in connection with the June 2004 attack on government buildings in Ingushetia. According to the Associated Press, Gasayev was arrested by police in an apartment in the eastern... MORE
U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership to Address Georgia’s Vulnerability
U.S.-Georgian bilateral security and military arrangements could come not a moment too soon. This strategic partnership should remedy the security vacuum that the United States, NATO, and the European Union had, each in its own way, allowed to develop in the Black Sea-South Caucasus region... MORE
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U.S.–Georgia Security and Military Agreement in the Works
Discussions are advancing on a framework agreement between the United States and Georgia, covering various aspects of relations including security and military cooperation. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza, in Tbilisi on December 16 and 17 for consultations, was tight-lipped when journalists asked... MORE
Russia or the South Caucasus: Options for NATO and the United States to Supply Forces in Afghanistan
The incoming U.S. Administration and (less credibly) NATO declare their intention to augment forces and escalate combat in Afghanistan. At the same time, however, security risks have reached unacceptable levels on the route for military and civilian supplies into Afghanistan via Pakistan. The Pakistan route... MORE