Latest Articles about The Caucasus
UNSC RESOLUTION ON THE CONFLICT IN ABKHAZIA: LESS TENDENTIOUS BUT STILL DUBIOUS
A routine six-month prolongation of UNOMIG’s mandate -- the 13 year-old United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia -- resulted in yet another political resolution on Abkhazia by the United Nations Security Council on April 13, after a week-long debate that punctuated a frozen “negotiating process.”... MORE
MOSCOW SIGNALS SUPPORT FOR ARMENIAN POWER HANDOVER
With less than a month to go before Armenia’s crucial parliamentary elections, Russia has signaled its support for an anticipated handover of power from Armenian President Robert Kocharian to newly appointed Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian. In a series of early April visits to Yerevan, senior... MORE
GEORGIA CREATING ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT IN SOUTH OSSETIA
Last November’s election of a Tbilisi-backed administration under Dmitry Sanakoyev in parts of South Ossetia has resulted in a dual-power situation, challenging the Moscow-installed Tskhinvali authorities to a contest for the local population’s allegiance. Tbilisi is now equipping the Sanakoyev administration -- based in Kurta,... MORE
UNOMIG DELAYING REPORT ON HELICOPTER ATTACK IN GEORGIA’S UPPER KODORI
For reasons undeclared, the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) is procrastinating with its investigation into the March 11 shelling of Georgia’s upper Kodori Valley by helicopters that flew in from Russia and returned there. On the morrow of the attacks, direct as well... MORE
ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER REPLACES DECEASED PRIME MINISTER
Armenian President Robert Kocharian has appointed his longtime influential associate, Defense Minister Serge Sarkisian, as prime minister, formalizing the latter’s status as Armenia’s second-most powerful leader. The appointment, officially announced on April 4, has been widely anticipated ever since the sudden death on March 25... MORE
POLITICAL SHAKE UP IN AZERBAIJAN SHOWS INCREASING POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT
A series of high-level arrests, court trials, and expulsions from the ruling party in Azerbaijan OVER the last month has stirred up tensions in the higher echelons of power and once again created rumors and speculation that the ruling party is collapsing. Casual observers and... MORE
RETIRED GENERALS SPICE UP ARMENIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Three retired army generals have added an element of intrigue and uncertainty to political life in Armenia with their separate decisions to stand in the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 12. Two of them resigned from the military for that purpose last month and are... MORE
AZERBAIJAN AT THE FOREFRONT OF CASPIAN BASIN ENERGY INITIATIVES
Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov is meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington today to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for energy security. Crafted to a large extent by Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza during recent visits to... MORE
WHEN STABILITY IS UNCOMFORTABLE: AIR ATTACK ON THE UPPER KODORI VALLEY
Increasing direct evidence as well as strong circumstantial evidence suggests that the air attack on Georgia’s upper Kodori Valley during the night of March 11-12 was carried out by Russian helicopters. An investigative report is due for release in the next few days under a... MORE
RAKHMONOV LAYS FOUNDATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION WITH BAKU
On March 14 Tajikistan’s parliament finally passed legislation updating the country’s “Law on Combating Terrorism.” According to Rano Qayumova, a member of the Assembly of Representatives, the legal reform was designed to comply with recent changes to the structure of central state bodies tasked with... MORE