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

Last week's demonstration of force by the Georgian central government on the administrative border with the breakaway region of South Ossetia sparked a vigorous debate among Russia's policy-makers, media and the analytic community. At the heart of the ongoing political discussion is the issue of... MORE

Kakha Bendukidze, one of Russia’s leading industrialists, is in Tbilisi today to accept appointment as minister of economics in the government of Georgia. President Mikheil Saakashvili and Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania decided to appoint Bendukidze during the May 27-29 visit to Tbilisi by a group... MORE