Latest Articles about The Caucasus

ARMENIA DEEPENS ECONOMIC TIES WITH IRAN

Armenia and Iran have agreed to give new impetus to their bilateral relations and press ahead with the implementation of more multimillion-dollar energy projects. The agreements were announced in Yerevan after the July 20 meeting of their intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, co-chaired by Iranian... MORE

AZERBAIJAN STATE OIL COMPANY TO BUILD REFINERIES ABROAD

On July 13 the Turkish Energy Markets Regulatory Authority (EMRA) approved a joint proposal by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Turkey’s Turcas Petrol to build a refinery near the Turkish port of Ceyhan. This was the second large-scale, successful initiative by SOCAR... MORE

YEREVAN VOWS “SECOND-GENERATION” REFORMS TO SUSTAIN ROBUST GROWTH

Armenia’s recently reshuffled government has pledged to embark on “second-generation” reforms that it hopes will sustain robust economic growth. According to government statistics, the Armenian economy expanded by 10.2% during the first five months of 2007, putting it on track to register a double-digit growth... MORE

GEORGIAN FLAG RAISED OVER AKHALKALAKI

The flag of Georgia has been flying over the Akhalkalaki military base since June 27, with Georgian troops moving onto the base to replace the last Russian troops. The commander of the Group of Russian Forces in the Transcaucasus (GRVZ), Maj.-General Andrei Popov, and Georgia’s... MORE

SECURITY OFFICIALS KIDNAP ALLEGED “WAHHABIS” IN DAGESTAN

Two recent conferences provide markedly different views on the situation in Dagestan. While the local government blames Islamic fundamentalism, human rights activists decry human rights violations. While Makhachkala’s leaders preach religious tolerance, law-enforcement officials carry out kidnappings, torture, and executions. On June 6 the government... MORE

SOUTH OSSETIAN LEADER CHOOSES EUROPE

Dmitry Sanakoyev, leader of the Tbilisi-backed provisional administrative unit in South Ossetia, visited Brussels on June 24-26 for informal introductory talks with representatives of European institutions, diplomatic missions, and think tanks and a speech in the European Parliament. Invited to Brussels by the European Union-Georgia... MORE

U.S.-BORN POLITICIAN RESHAPES ARMENIAN OPPOSITION CAMP

The May 12 parliamentary elections in Armenia, swept by political allies of President Robert Kocharian and Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian, were a massive blow to the country’s fragmented opposition. Most of its top leaders, including the two men who had nearly unseated Kocharian in the... MORE

RIVAL CASPIAN CANAL PROJECTS COMPETE FOR INVESTORS

Azerbaijan, one of the rising Caspian energy exporters, has dismissed a Russian proposition to renovate the Volga-Don Canal (Itar-Tass, June 19). Baku apparently favors a Kazakh proposal for a “Eurasia Canal,” calling Russia’s plans a simple upgrade of the existing canal. Speaking in Rostov-on-Don on... MORE

PUTIN’S GABALA OFFER GETS MIXED REACTION IN AZERBAIJAN

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal to jointly use the Gabala radar station with the United States caused debates and split opinions in Azerbaijan. Putin made the offer on the sidelines of the June 6-8 G-8 summit in Germany. The Gabala station is the only Russian... MORE