On October 13, at the 54th round of the Geneva International Discussions (GID) on the Russian-Georgian conflict, the Georgian delegation raised the issue of Russia granting dual citizenship to residents of Georgia’s breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers... MORE

At a time when the efforts of Russia, Turkey and Iran to expand their influence in the South Caucasus have received attention internationally, the ongoing moves by China to solidify its role in Georgia have slid under the radar. Nonetheless, Georgia promises to give Beijing... MORE

On September 21, 2021, Iran kicked off military drills near the Azerbaijani districts of Fizuli, Jebrayil and Zangilan, which Azerbaijan had de-occupied last year, during the Second Karabakh War with Armenia. The Iranian exercises marked the first time in history that Tehran carried out war... MORE

On October 1, one day before Georgia held local elections, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated that the police had arrested former president Mikhail Saakashvili in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi (Radio Tavisupleba, Civil.ge, October 1). Saakashvili was detained almost immediately upon his return to... MORE

On September 17–19, elections to Russia’s State Duma (lower house of Parliament) were unlawfully staged in Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia—territories seized from Moldova and Georgia, respectively. Russia also unlawfully staged elections to its Duma in the occupied territories in Ukraine’s Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk)... MORE

On September 6, former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, who now heads the Executive Committee of the National Council of Reforms in Ukraine, announced that he will come back to Georgia for the upcoming October 2 municipal race. According to all polls, Saakashvili’s United National Movement... MORE

With the emergence of China and other manufacturing powerhouses in Asia that constantly seek access to new markets, the Caucasus has become attractive as a transit route for the movement of goods between the two parts of the Eurasian continent. Georgia (and by extension Armenia)... MORE

The Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan has sparked concern in Central Asia and Russia that this development will generate refugee flows into both regions and that among those migrants will be members of radical Islamist groups who might mobilize extremist forces within the five countries of... MORE

On August 2, Irma Inasvhili, one of the founders of the Georgian pro-Russian political party Alliance of Patriots, posted her faction’s open letter to “Your Excellency,” Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking for his assistance in repairing cooperation between their two countries. The Alliance of Patriots... MORE

*To read Part One, please click here. *To read Part Two, please click here. *To read Part Three, please click here. *To read Part Four, please click here. Romania’s proposals, seconded by ten European Union member states, regarding the protracted conflicts in the Black Sea... MORE