Latest Articles about The Caucasus
UN MISSION CONFIRMS GEORGIAN, REJECTS RUSSIAN VERSION OF AIR CLASH
On May 26 the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) released its report on the downing of a unmanned Georgian aerial vehicle (UAV), which was reconnoitering Russian-controlled Abkhazia on April 20. Contrary to UNOMIG’s traditional tolerance of Russian pressures on Georgia, this report holds... MORE
A GEORGIAN CHARM OFFENSIVE IN MOSCOW
In an apparent attempt to defuse a tense diplomatic and military conflict with Russia over the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian government is starting a major drive in Moscow to improve relations. The new Georgian ambassador to Moscow, Erosi Kicmarishvili, who... MORE
MOSCOW ENCOURAGES NORTH-SOUTH OSSETIAN IRREDENTISM AGAINST GEORGIA
On May 20 Moscow signaled officially that it was prepared to promote annexation of Georgia’s region of South Ossetia to the Russian Federation. The Russian government seems set to underwrite an ethnic irredenta there, seeking to put an Ossetian face on Russian state expansionism (as... MORE
AZERBAIJAN CAN RESCUE THE ODESSA-BRODY PIPELINE PROJECT
The energy summit in Kyiv, to be attended by heads of state and government from Caspian, Black Sea and Baltic countries on May 22 and 23, is expected to revitalize the Odessa-Brody-Plock-Gdansk pipeline project for Caspian oil. This has become possible thanks to rapidly developing... MORE
TURKEY OFFERS “DIALOGUE” TO ARMENIA
Turkey has offered to enter into a “dialogue” with neighboring Armenia that would aim at improving the historically strained relations between the two nations. The diplomatic overtures have prompted a positive response from Armenian leaders, raising fresh hopes for the elimination of a major source... MORE
GEORGIA HOLDS PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN A DANGEROUS SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
Georgia is holding parliamentary elections on May 21 against a backdrop of Russian military threats and economic and transport blockades overall Western passivity in the face of those pressures. These parliamentary elections are the latest challenge in the series of problems that have befallen Georgia... MORE
U.N. RESOLUTION ON ABKHAZIA SHOWS WHO’S WHO ON ETHNIC CLEANSING
On May 15 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Georgian resolution recognizing the right of expellees to return to Georgia’s Abkhazia region. The voting was 14 countries in favor, 11 against, and 105 abstaining, with another 63 countries not voting. Adoption of the resolution... MORE
U.S.-AZERBAIJAN RELATIONS GO THROUGH TENSION, YET MAINTAIN STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
As the presidential elections in Azerbaijan are approaching, the issue of Western influence in those elections and the perceived threat of the West’s support for the color revolutions is once again emerging in the country. In this context the role of the United States is... MORE
RUSSIAN JOURNALISTS USED AS CHANNEL FOR TBILISI-MOSCOW CONTACTS
Last week Georgia and its breakaway province of Abkhazia were close to a war that would surely have involved Russia. An armed conflict could escalate into an all-out war, engulfing the entire Caucasus. Russia has accused the Georgians of concentrating forces in the upper Kodori... MORE
AZERBAIJAN JOINS THE MIDDLE EAST
Azerbaijan's massive hydrocarbon resources have begun to attract the attention of an increasing number of energy-poor nations in the Middle East, including Israel and Jordan. While the logistical problems involved in such deliveries would be daunting, as no direct pipelines currently exist, the diplomatic intricacies... MORE