Latest Articles about The Caucasus
ARMENIA’S KOCHARIAN SEEKING CONTINUED ROLE IN GOVERNMENT
With just over one year to go before the end of his second and final term in office, Armenia’s President Robert Kocharian does not leave the impression of a man preparing for retirement. The past week has seen further indications that he wants to dominate... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS U.S., IRANIAN HELP TO SETTLE NORTH CAUCASUS CONFLICTS
Earlier this month the U.S. and Iranian ambassadors to Russia visited the North Caucasus, a region in southern Russia. U.S. Ambassador William Burns was in the North Caucasus from December 4-5, visiting Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkaria, as well as Vladikavkaz and Beslan in North... MORE
MOSCOW SELF-DISQUALIFYING AS PEACEKEEPER AND MEDIATOR IN ABKHAZ, SOUTH OSSETIAN CONFLICTS
The Russian Duma’s December 6 resolutions, calling for recognition of Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s secession from Georgia and their potential incorporation into Russia, are primarily geared to short-term tactical goals of Russian policy. These goals include: a) provoking Georgia into another spiral of bilateral confrontation... MORE
AZERBAIJAN KEEPS SOLIDARITY WITH GEORGIA DESPITE RUSSIAN ENERGY SUPPLY CUTS
On Wednesday, December 6, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupryanov confirmed recent press reports that Gazprom will abruptly slash gas supplies to Azerbaijan to 1.5 billion cubic meters in 2007, down from 4.5 billion cubic meters in 2006, and that it would raise the price as of... MORE
SURPRISE SUSPENSION OF PRIVATE TV IN AZERBAIJAN LEAVES MANY PUZZLED
At its regularly scheduled November 24 meeting, the National Radio and Television Council (NRTC) of Azerbaijan decided to suspend the broadcast license of ANS TV, the first private television station in the country, and its radio station ANS-CM. Council chairman Nushiravan Maharramli stated that the... MORE
ALTERNATIVE SOUTH OSSETIAN LEADER INAUGURATED
On December 1 Dmitry Sanakoyev was inaugurated as alternative South Ossetian leader and announced the formation of an alternative local administration in Georgian and mixed Ossetian-Georgian areas of South Ossetia. Sanakoyev and his Union for the National Salvation of Ossetians (UNSO) enjoy support also in... MORE
ARMENIAN, AZERI PRESIDENTS REKINDLE HOPES FOR KARABAKH PEACE
The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have produced a new glimmer of hope for a resolution of the Karabakh conflict following their third face-to-face meeting in less than a year. Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev have indicated that they made further progress towards a mutually... MORE
AZERBAIJANI-RUSSIAN RELATIONS ENTER TURBULENT PHASE
Azerbaijani-Russian relations, increasingly warm in the past five years, are about to enter a difficult phase that could turn both countries into regional rivals. There are three reasons for the shift: Azerbaijan’s increasing gas production, Russia’s fight against illegal migration, and the recent visit by... MORE
INTRANSIGENCE IN MOSCOW, SUKHUMI, TSKHINVALI AFTER UN RESOLUTION AND OKRUASHVILI RESIGNATION
Western approval of the UN Security Council’s October 13 resolution criticizing Georgia’s return to the upper Kodori Valley, and the November 7 resignation of Irakli Okruashvili as Georgia’s defense minister, are not thus far proving conducive to the stated goals of those moves. The goals... MORE
PRO-OSSETIAN AUTHORITIES EMERGING IN SOUTH OSSETIA
The Tbilisi-backed Union for National Salvation of Ossetians (UNSO) conducted its own referendum and presidential election in South Ossetia on November 12, as an alternative to the referendum and election conducted that day by the Moscow-installed authorities (see EDM, November 15). Residents of villages with... MORE