Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Russia Playing Cat-and-Mouse With OSCE (Part Two)
Russia forced what it calls “the collective West” into significant concessions for this year’s Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) annual meeting of foreign ministers. Using its statutory veto and blocking powers, Moscow forced the organization to replace Estonia with Malta to chair... MORE
Armenia and Azerbaijan Discussing a Swap of Exclaves
On November 28, Alen Simonyan, head of Armenia’s National Assembly, told journalists that “the ball is in Azerbaijan’s court” regarding peace negotiations between the two countries. He added, “Armenia fully supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. … If desired, the peace agreement can be signed... MORE
Strained Relations Between Azerbaijan and the West
On November 16, Baku canceled a meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan scheduled to take place on November 20 in Washington (Apa.az, November 16). The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry asserted that, under the current circumstances, it is not possible to proceed with US-mediated... MORE
Russia’s Restoration of Sukhumi Airport May Lead to Full Annexation of Abkhazia
On October 27, the Moscow-backed separatist government in Abkhazia signed a public-private partnership agreement with the recently established Russian company Infrastructure Development to restore operations at the Babushera airport near the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi. Rashid Nurgaliyev Jr., the son of the current deputy secretary... MORE
Caspian Sea Drying Up, Forcing Coastal Countries to Respond
The Caspian Sea is in danger of drying up. On June 7, government officials in the coastal city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, released a statement declaring a natural state of emergency for the maritime industry due to the sea’s low water levels (Facebook.com/Aktau_Press, June 7; Eurasianet,... MORE
Azerbaijan Learns Important Lessons From Israel-Hamas War
On October 29, the Israeli government granted a tender to the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) for gas exploration in Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Mediterranean Sea (Azvision.az, October 30). The deal came two days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip... MORE
European Commission Recommends Candidate Status for Georgia
On November 8, the European Commission made the historic recommendation to award EU candidate status to Georgia (Ec.europa.eu, November 8). The final decision to officially grant that status will be made on December 14 and 15. This development is an important step for EU expansion... MORE
Georgia Positions Itself as Mediator Between Armenia and Azerbaijan
On October 26 and 27, Tbilisi hosted the fourth annual Silk Road Forum. The forum brought together about 2,000 guests from 60 countries to discuss global economic challenges and prospects for cooperation (Report.az, October 26). International interest in the event skyrocketed after Russia’s full-scale invasion... MORE
Moscow Purges Security Officials and Takes Preventative Steps in the North Caucasus
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a high-level meeting of security officials immediately following the recent anti-Israeli riots in Dagestan and elsewhere in the North Caucasus. Putin’s move is one of only a few indications that Moscow is concerned with the unrest (MR7.ru, November 5).... MORE
France Agrees to Send Arms to Armenia in Another Blow to Russia’s Regional Influence
In September, Azerbaijan carried out a swift military operation to reclaim full control over the Karabakh region (see EDM, September 20). Since then, Armenia has begun searching for new partners, as Yerevan has become deeply distrustful of Moscow (see EDM, February 9). On October 3,... MORE