Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's steps toward improving material and technical support for the Georgian army resulted in a significant increase in the military call-up. During the current draft, which started April 26 and will finish July 31, more than 3,000 conscripts have begun service. This... MORE

Bilateral negotiations on Russia's military bases in Georgia were expected to resume this week, but did not. At the last minute, Moscow declined Tbilisi's invitation to hold a two-day round of negotiations. Earlier, the Russian side ignored Tbilisi's proposal to hold a negotiating round on... MORE

The much-discussed Pankisi gorge involving Chechen refugees has reappeared on the agenda of Georgian-Russian relations. On a visit to Georgia on June 8-9, a delegation of the Russian federal migration service led by Boris Yunashin, vainly attempted to persuade an estimated 2,000 Chechen refugees situated... MORE

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania held on June 13 their first-ever elections for the Brussels-based European Parliament, the legislative body of the European Union (EU). Fortuitously but fittingly, the election date coincided with the annual observances of the Day of Memory and Hope (June 14), when... MORE

During the night of June 11-12, a massive convoy of Russian Army trucks, carrying tarpaulin-covered cargoes, reportedly entered Georgia's territory in South Ossetia via the Roki tunnel from Russian territory. It is assumed that the trucks carried military equipment and troops. The Russian military did... MORE

Trans-Dniester's leaders -- partners in "federalism" with the U.S. State Department and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- are offering military assistance to South Ossetia now, and to Abkhazia if the need arises. The two top leaders of Trans-Dniester made these... MORE

Prior to this week's cabinet of ministers' parliamentary vote of confidence, according the new Constitution, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili issued a surprise reshuffling of officials to lead the "force" ministries. Today he is expected to make the announcement official. At a news conference on June... MORE

At a June 2 meeting of the mixed monitoring commission in Tskhinvali, the Georgian delegation demonstrated its lack of confidence in Major-General Svyatoslav Nabzdorov, demanding that he be recalled by Russia. Nabzdorov is the Russian commander of peacekeeping forces in South Ossetia. He is being... MORE

Russian soldiers continue to die in Chechnya, as the unpopular conflict shows no sign of changing from its dirty and unpredictable nature. Separate recent incidents in Grozny, causing injuries to a platoon commander and conscript soldier from the interior troops, and in the Chechen village... MORE

A pair of bombings over the last several days-one targeted at people, the other at infrastructure-would seem to highlight the ongoing terrorist threat that Russia is facing. Yet investigators are reportedly leaning toward the theory that the blasts were the result of criminal-commercial disputes rather... MORE