On March 31, Anatoly Bibilov, the so-called “president” of the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia—occupied by Russia since August 2008—announced that the local authorities would hold a popular referendum on whether to join the Russian Federation. “I believe that unification with Russia is our... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his “special military operation” against Ukraine in an early-morning TV address on February 24. Over a month later, beyond inflicting massive suffering and damage, few of Putin’s initial objectives in Ukraine have been accomplished, from defeating the Ukrainian Armed Forces... MORE

In a press briefing on March 11, Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri revealed that approximately 25,000–30,000 Russian citizens had arrived and stayed in Georgia following Russia’s launch of full-scale military aggression against Ukraine (Kommersant, March 11). Most of these individuals were escaping asphyxiating Western sanctions... MORE

The Kremlin’s large-scale war against Ukraine has vividly demonstrated various weaknesses of the Russian military. And as Russian losses have mounted, speculation grew quickly about whether Moscow would seek to redeploy additional troops to the front lines from different regions, including Georgia. That possibility appears... MORE

On March 3, as Russia’s massive re-invasion of Ukraine entered its second week, the Georgian government unexpectedly followed Kyiv’s lead and filed a formal application to join the European Union. In commenting on the announcement, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili declared that Georgia is “a deserving... MORE

On February 26, Azerbaijan donated a reported €5 million ($5.6 million) worth of medicine and medical equipment as humanitarian relief to Ukraine (Marja.az, February 26). The aid was announced by Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelenskyy on Twitter soon after his telephone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham... MORE

On February 21, a few days before Russia launched its large-scale re-invasion of Ukraine, 53 political and non-governmental organizations registered in Georgia published an “open letter” to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he help them achieve a “neutral status” for their country (Radiotavisupleba.ge, February... MORE

When Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (DPR, LPR) and ceremoniously signed association treaties with these Moscow-backed separatist Ukrainian regions on February 21 (see EDM, February 22), Georgia’s own Russian-occupied territories—South Ossetia and Abkhazia—quickly welcomed the decision (Mfa.rsogov.org, Mfaapsny.org,... MORE

On February 1, the first day of the legislative spring session, the Georgian parliament adopted a resolution in support of Ukraine that fell short of mentioning the Russian Federation. The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party had tabled this resolution, which lawmakers adopted with 74 votes... MORE

Relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan underwent acute conflict and tension in September–October 2021. However, since mid-October, the two countries have endeavored to manage the frictions and reduce the disagreements in their relationship. Recently, on January 26, 2022, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov... MORE