Latest Articles about Georgia
TBILISI WARMS TO IDEA OF RESTORING RAIL LINK TO ABKHAZIA
The prospects of reopening the Georgian-Abkhaz railway line seem to be improving. The issue has been the subject of discussions at various high-profile meetings in recent months. The Georgian government has significantly softened its initial tough stance on the issue. Reopening the railway branch between... MORE
OPPOSITION DOUBTS FAIRNESS OF GEORGIA’S NEW ELECTORAL COMMISSION
The composition of Georgia's new Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has already raised doubts about the fairness of the coming elections. In April parliament amended the Georgian election code to change the composition of the CEC and lower-level election administrations. The main point of the change... MORE
WILL SOUTH OSSETIA HAVE ANOTHER BLOODY SUMMER?
Recent weeks have brought alarming developments from Georgia's separatist South Ossetia region. Kidnappings, militant statements, Russian military assistance to the separatists, and fruitless peace negotiations -- the same factors that contributed to armed conflict in the region last summer -- are fully present. On June... MORE
BREAKTHROUGH IN GEORGIA-RUSSIA NEGOTIATIONS ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL
On May 30 in Moscow, Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and Salome Zourabichvili signed a Joint Statement regarding the "cessation of functioning" of Russian military bases and other installations and withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia. In this document, the Russian side renounces some... MORE
ZHVANIA’S DEATH STILL CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC IN GEORGIA
The almost-shelved investigation into the February 3 death of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania has resurfaced and may yet damage President Mikheil Saakashvili's government. Saakashvili did not mention Zhvania's death when he reviewed the troubles Georgia has faced in 2005 when he addressed the crowd... MORE
JAVAKHETI REGION COMPLICATES GEORGIAN RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA
In April Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian held talks in Tbilisi following unrest in Georgia's predominately Armenian-populated southern region, Samtskhe-Javakheti. The disturbances, which calmed down soon, coincided with a parliamentary resolution about the withdrawal of Russian military bases from Georgia,... MORE
GEORGIA AND RUSSIA MARCH TOWARD DIPLOMATIC WAR
On March 10, the Georgian Parliament passed a resolution that set a May 15 deadline for progress in the bilateral negotiations about the terms for closing the two remaining Russian military bases in Georgia. Since the parties have failed to make any progress, beginning May... MORE
SAAKASHVILI DECLARES BUSH VISIT “A HUGE POLITICAL VICTORY”
U.S. President George W. Bush paid an unprecedented visit to the republic of Georgia on May 9-10. His warm reception in Tbilisi contrasted with Moscow's frosty view of the trip, which one Russian analyst described as "a fly in the ointment" of Russian-American relations. Some... MORE
MOSCOW THWARTS JOINT PRESIDENTIAL DECLARATION ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA
On May 6, the Russian government reneged on a recent, informal understanding between Ministers of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and Salome Zourabichvili regarding a timetable for the closure of Russian bases and withdrawal of troops from Georgia. That informal understanding had envisaged starting the withdrawal... MORE
ONE YEAR AFTER THE FALL OF ABASHIDZE, AJARIA STILL PLAGUED WITH GOVERNANCE PROBLEMS
"Aslan has fled, Ajaria is free!" With these words, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili greeted his countrymen on the morning on May 6, 2004. A popular revolution in the Georgian Autonomous Republic of Ajaria had toppled the region's strongman, Aslan Abashidze, ending his 13-year rule and... MORE