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Latest Articles about The Caucasus
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Growing Azerbaijani–Central Asian Ties Likely to Trigger Conflicts With Russia and Iran
Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War (September 29–November 9) has had a transformative effect on the country. It not only changed the attitudes of its population, whose members now feel themselves to be heroes rather than victims (see EDM, January 21), but also bolstered... MORE
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The Second Karabakh War and Georgia’s Threatened Transit Role
The aftermath of the second Armenian-Azerbaijani war in Karabakh (September 29–November 9, 2020) initiated new geopolitical and geo-economic adjustments for the South Caucasus, including possible competition between existing and prospective transit routes in the region. This competition is expected to be entwined with significant political... MORE
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Moscow’s Delay of 2020 Census Opens Way for Circassian Promotion of Common Identity
For the second time, ostensibly out of concern that census takers might further spread the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian government has postponed the 2020 all-Russian enumeration, this time until September 2021 (Natsionalnyy Aktsent, February 9). That decision may, indeed, reduce the epidemiological dangers, but it... MORE
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Gazprom Wants to Abandon Money-Losing Gas Distribution Obligations in Dagestan
Russian energy giant Gazprom wants to completely abandon its natural gas retail sales and distribution business in Dagestan because those operations bring the state-owned firm only losses. The company has asked the Russian government to relieve it of its distributor obligations, and it is prepared... MORE
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Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan Sign Trilateral Roadmap for Cooperation on Eurasian Connectivity
Leaders of an inter-departmental working group from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan agreed on a tripartite roadmap for deeper cooperation on the Lapis Lazuli Corridor, on January 16, 2021 (Mfa.gov.tm, January 16). The online meeting was attended by the deputy chairperson of the Cabinet of Ministers... MORE
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Joint Russian-Turkish Karabakh Monitoring Center Opens Amidst Fresh Controversy
Four days ago (February 1), the Joint Russian-Turkish Center for Monitoring the Ceasefire in Karabakh opened in Qiyameddinli (in the Agdam district of Azerbaijan), a village Baku recovered after the recent fighting. In attendance were Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Gasanov, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Aleksandr... MORE
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Poisonings of Activists in the North Caucasus: A Low Threshold for Chemical Weapons Use Inside Russia?
On January 27, a reputable team of investigators from the Bellingcat organization published a report regarding the activities of the Russian security services’ poison squad. Investigators linked several Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives and civilian chemists to the death of journalist and activist Timur Kuashev... MORE
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Baku and Ankara Deny Turkish Military Bases Being Established in Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijani government has denied accounts, first published on January 8 in Haqqin.az but subsequently deleted, of three Turkish military bases allegedly being established in Azerbaijan as a consequence of Turkish military assistance to Baku during last year’s 44-day Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict. The reports, if accurate,... MORE
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Georgian Politics Without the ‘Strong Man’: Has Ivanishvili Really Relinquished Power?
The founder and leader of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, announced he is leaving politics forever. In his last interview with Georgian public television (January 11, 2021), Ivanishvili underlined that he would no longer support GD, either as head of the... MORE
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Can the Minsk Group on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Reinvent Itself? (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. Russia, not the Minsk Group, will reinvent the Minsk Group, and is working on it (see Part One in EDM, January 28). The object is not the 12-nation Minsk Group Conference (this has been inactive since the mid-1990s),... MORE