Latest Articles about Georgia
NEW GROUP OF GEORGIA’S FRIENDS FOUNDED
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria founded the "New Group of Georgia's Friends" on February 4 in Tbilisi. The specification "new" differentiates it from the decade-old "Group of Friends of Georgia," originally comprised of the United States, Germany, Britain, and France. That old group... MORE
DEATH OF GEORGIA’S PRIME MINISTER ZHVANIA RAISES QUESTIONS
The sudden death of Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania last night (February 2) has plunged the country into shock. The news of Zhvania's death comes on the heels of the car bomb that exploded in Gori two days ago, killing at least a dozen people.... MORE
RUSSIA CLAIMS STRATEGIC VICTORY IN GEORGIAN PRIVATIZATION ROUND
When Tbilisi recently completed the privatization of several Georgian industrial giants, Russian companies had become owners of several strategic economic entities in Georgia. All indications suggest that the Russian firms are not finished with their Georgian acquisition plans. Evraz Holding has taken ownership of 70.8%... MORE
UN SECURITY COUNCIL’S HANDLING OF ABKHAZIA: A DISQUIETING PRELUDE TO BUSH-PUTIN SUMMIT
On January 28, the UN Security Council (UNSC) voted to approve a routine six-month extension of the UNOMIG (UN Observer Mission in Georgia) mandate to observe the ceasefire in Abkhazia. The UNSC had finalized the wording of the relevant resolution at a closed-door meeting on... MORE
GEORGIAN PRESIDENT LAUNCHES SOUTH OSSETIA PEACE INITIATIVE
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg on January 26, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili unveiled an offer of full autonomy for South Ossetia. Under this offer, South Ossetia would enjoy -- both de facto and de jure -- a higher... MORE
SOUTH OSSETIA OFFERS TO BARGAIN WITH TBILISI FOR RELEASE OF SUSPECTED MURDERERS
While Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is preparing to address the January 26 session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with "unprecedented" peace proposals for Georgia's breakaway regions, a hostage drama in South Ossetia threatens to cloud his plans. On January 19, the... MORE
BORDER MONITORING IN GEORGIA : THREE NONSTARTERS, ONE OPTION
With every passing week, Russia is coming closer to success in its efforts to eliminate the international presence on the Georgian side of the Georgia-Russia border. Having forced the termination of the OSCE's unarmed Border Monitoring Operation (BMO) as of January 1, Moscow now resists... MORE
WILL ASYMMETRICAL FEDERALISM WORK FOR ABKHAZIA?
The Georgian government has crafted a new framework to facilitate the reintegration of Abkhazia and South Ossetia into the Georgian state. A special blueprint drafted by the National Security Council reportedly proposes an asymmetric federation with an unprecedented degree of sovereignty for Abkhazia. Giorgi Khaindrava,... MORE
MOSCOW THREATENS GEORGIA AS BUSH-PUTIN SUMMIT NEARS
Testing the West's collective credibility, Russia is again fabricating pretexts for possible military action on Georgian territory, ostensibly to go after "Chechen and international terrorists" in the Pankisi Gorge. This latest cycle of threats is more dangerous than previous ones because Moscow has just dictated... MORE
FORMER ABKHAZ PRESIDENTIAL RIVALS UNITE UNDER PRESSURE FROM MOSCOW
Georgia's breakaway region Abkhazia holds a second round of its presidential elections today (January 12). Sergei Bagapsh claimed victory in the initial election on October 3, 2004. However, Russian officials soon arrived in Abkhazia to annul the result. Russia forced Bagapsh to re-run the election,... MORE