Heads of state and governments of Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova -- the GUAM group of countries -- met June 18-19 in Baku, together with the presidents of Romania, Poland, and Lithuania. The meeting marks the tenth year of GUAM’s existence. The anniversary summit was... MORE

On June 18-19 in Baku, the GUAM countries’ annual summit reviewed the state of implementation of the group’s policies, projects, and institutional development. Presidents Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev (substituting for President... MORE

Security concerns in the North Caucasus traditionally peak in the summer. Warm weather and green leaves on trees help the Caucasian rebels intensify their attacks on Russian army units and local police forces. Every summer and fall Russian security officials try to guess where the... MORE

Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian and his top political allies have cut a new power-sharing deal resulting from their landslide victory in the May 12 parliamentary elections. In a decree made public on June 8, Kocharian formally approved the composition of a coalition government headed by... MORE

On May 22 the Russian Supreme Chamber of Judges rejected Islam Burlakov’s nomination for an additional term as head of the Supreme Court of Karachaevo-Cherkessia. All 19 judges voted against Burlakov; now the nomination goes to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his approval or rejection.... MORE

Although the political establishment in Azerbaijan was chagrined by the May 12 agreement among Turkmenistan, Russia, and Kazakhstan for plans to construct a new gas pipeline to export Turkmen gas to Western markets through Russia, official Baku still sees great opportunities in bilateral relations with... MORE

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to hold yet another face-to-face meeting that could result in a long-awaited breakthrough in international efforts to resolve the conflict over Karabakh. The U.S., French, and Russian diplomats acting under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group... MORE

On May 8, a seminar on fighting crime was held in Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, a North Caucasian republic. The seminar, “Modern Russian Society: Burning Issues of Fighting Crime,” was divided into four sections: terrorism; drug trafficking; historical, judicial, philosophic, and criminological aspects of... MORE

A series of incidents staged in recent days by South Ossetian secessionist forces seeks to provoke the Georgian government into retaliating, so as to derail a political process that Moscow and Tskhinvali cannot control. That political process involves the consolidation of Tbilisi-backed alternative authorities under... MORE