On April 21, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denounced the European Union for allegedly seeking to inject itself into the high-level Russian-Azerbaijani-Armenian agreements on the delimitation of the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the restoration of regional transport... MORE

On July 17, the Russian-occupied Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia will hold a referendum on joining Russia (Radio Tavisupleba, May, 13). Anatoly Bibilov, who is serving out his term as the head of the separatist regime in Tskhinvali, signed a decree to hold the... MORE

The Russian war of subjugation against Ukraine has complicated Georgian-Ukrainian relations, officially described as a “strategic partnership,” in unexpected ways. While the two threatened Russian neighbors seemingly share the same regional security outlook, ongoing tensions between them have been exacerbated by Kyiv’s discontent over the... MORE

In early April, high-level Italian and French delegations traveled separately to Azerbaijan to discuss cooperation in the energy sector, including natural gas exports and “green” electricity generated from Caspian-basin wind (Minenergy.gov.az, April 2, 8). The twin visits occurred against the background of mounting anxieties about... MORE

On April 21, a United States Congressional delegation arrived in Georgia, as part of a wider European trip, to “discuss the strengthening of the Transatlantic alliance.” In addition to the South Caucasus country, the US lawmakers, all members of the Democratic Party, also visited France... MORE

On April 16, a multi-party delegation of the Georgian parliament, on a visit to Ukraine, traveled to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where, according to multiple Western governments and representatives of the International Criminal Court, the Russian occupying forces committed war crimes against the civilian... MORE

The roles of the Central Asian and the South Caucasus regions in facilitating economic relations between the European Union and East Asia—particularly in the fields of energy, trade, and transportation—have been growing in importance over the last few months (Report.az, April 6). Amidst the current... MORE

The Russo-Ukrainian war has cast doubt on the sustainability of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) “Northern Corridor” because of mounting Western sanctions on this overland route’s key links—Russia and Belarus (see EDM, April 8, 18). The growing vulnerability of the Northern Corridor, which... MORE

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