Latest Articles about The Caucasus
OPPOSITION SCORES TWO GAINS IN AZERBAIJAN
On March 21, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev signed an amnesty decree, releasing 115 prisoners. The decreed, timed to coincide with the Novruz spring holiday, freed many individuals that the Council of Europe, local, and international human rights organizations considered to be "political prisoners" (ANS TV,... MORE
BALTIC SEA-BLACK SEA “AXIS” ADUMBRATED
On an official visit to Kyiv on March 25-26, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yushchenko, used the term "Baltic Sea-Black Sea Axis," referring to countries pursuing shared interests in this region: the three Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Georgia.... MORE
GEORGIAN ADVISORS STEPPING FORWARD IN BISHKEK
Early this week Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili sent a formal letter to Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev calling upon him to be more tolerant toward the opposition's demands and offered to personally mediate in negotiations with the opposition forces. Georgian emissaries have reportedly worked with all... MORE
GEORGIA’S GREEK AND ARMENIAN COMMUNITIES DECRY RESETTLEMENT PLANS
Last week the Georgian and the Greek-Armenian communities clashed in Tsalka, a multi-ethnic district in Georgia's southern Kvemo Kartli region. The confrontation broke out after a group of burglars assaulted the Kaloerovs, an ethnic Greek couple in Tsalka's village of Avralo on March 16. The... MORE
AZERBAIJAN AND CHINA MOVE TO INCREASE SECURITY AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION
President Ilham Aliev's March 17 visit to China marked a new, more expanded phase in relations between Azerbaijan and China. Although contacts between the two countries have remained relatively friendly since 1991, the last time their top leaders met was in 1994 when the late... MORE
INSURGENTS IN DAGESTAN AND KABARDINO-BALKARIA READY FOR SUMMER CAMPAIGN
While Russian authorities were celebrating the death of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, insurgents in two other Northern Caucasus regions declared their readiness to conduct "military operations" as part of a coming spring and summer "campaign." On March 10, Yarmuk, an insurgent group in Kabardino-Balkaria,... MORE
KARABAKH PEACE PROCESS AGAIN IN LIMBO
The long-running international efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict are again facing an uncertain future following the cancellation of the next and potentially decisive round of talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which were scheduled for March 2 in Prague. The official reason for the delay... MORE
BAGAPSH TRAVELS TO MOSCOW, RETURNS WITH MESSAGE FOR TBILISI
Sergei Bagapsh, the self-styled president of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, arrived in Moscow on March 11. The visit, originally scheduled for March 3, was postponed as many as three times. The trip was reportedly rescheduled due to Bagapsh's 56th birthday, holidays in Moscow, persisting... MORE
ARE AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA HEADED FOR NEW CONFRONTATION OVER KARABAKH?
Spring typically revives the lingering conflict over the Karabakh enclave. But according to Azerbaijani military expert Uzeyir Jafarov, "The tensions on the front line happen every spring, but this year something unusual is happening" (Echo, March 16). Jafarov's observation accurately describes the situation on the... MORE
BEWARE OF TRAPS IN GEORGIA-RUSSIA TROOP WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT
The Georgian Parliament passed a resolution on March 10 that requires Russia unconditionally to withdraw its forces from Georgia no later than January 1, 2006 -- unless Moscow reaches agreement with Tbilisi before May 15, 2005, on a "reasonable timeframe" for the troop withdrawal (see... MORE