When Tbilisi recently completed the privatization of several Georgian industrial giants, Russian companies had become owners of several strategic economic entities in Georgia. All indications suggest that the Russian firms are not finished with their Georgian acquisition plans. Evraz Holding has taken ownership of 70.8%... MORE

While local newspapers and political analysts continue to speculate about whether the United States will attack Iran during President George W. Bush's second term, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev departed for a three-day official visit to Tehran. Turan News Agency reported on January 24 that eight... MORE

While Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is preparing to address the January 26 session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with "unprecedented" peace proposals for Georgia's breakaway regions, a hostage drama in South Ossetia threatens to cloud his plans. On January 19, the... MORE

Armenian President Robert Kocharian has announced a major crackdown on tax evasion, which is widely blamed for the highly uneven distribution of the benefits of Armenia's robust economic growth. In separate high-profile meetings with the leaders of his government's taxation and customs administration services earlier... MORE

With every passing week, Russia is coming closer to success in its efforts to eliminate the international presence on the Georgian side of the Georgia-Russia border. Having forced the termination of the OSCE's unarmed Border Monitoring Operation (BMO) as of January 1, Moscow now resists... MORE

The Georgian government has crafted a new framework to facilitate the reintegration of Abkhazia and South Ossetia into the Georgian state. A special blueprint drafted by the National Security Council reportedly proposes an asymmetric federation with an unprecedented degree of sovereignty for Abkhazia. Giorgi Khaindrava,... MORE

Two newly formed election coalitions have awakened Azerbaijan 's seemingly indifferent political scene, promising heated parliamentary elections later this year. On January 10, 26 NGOs and representatives from various political parties formed a new election coalition, "Solidarity and Trust." Ilgar Gasimov, chairman of the public... MORE