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Latest Articles about South Caucasus
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Russian-Abkhaz Agreement: What Is Moscow’s Plan for Georgia?
Georgian authorities are trying to devise new tactics and a new style of relations with Moscow after the November 24 signing of the Russian-Abkhazian agreement On Alliance and Strategic Partnership (Kavkavsky Uzel, November 24; see EDM, October 29, November 24). However, with Western leaders currently... MORE
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The Rise of Azerbaijani Fighters in Syria – A Profile of Muhammad al-Azeri
As fighting for the northern Syrian town of Kobane raged in early October, videos of Islamic State militants speaking the Azerbaijani language began appearing on YouTube (RFE/RL, October 14). These video clips were followed by reports about Azerbaijani nationals found among dead Islamic State fighters... MORE
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Looming Annexations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and Russia’s Growing Appetite for Territorial Expansion
On November 20, Russian-occupied South Ossetia’s (Tskhinvali region) separatist regime declared that it is negotiating a new “comprehensive agreement on integration” with Russia, which will raise the relationship between the two sides to a “qualitatively new level,” especially in the military sphere (regnum.ru, November 20).... MORE
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Radio Appendage of ‘Russia Today’ Appears in Georgia
As of several weeks ago, the station Radio-Sputnik has begun broadcasting in Georgia from its studio located on Ateni Street in downtown Tbilisi. It prepares radio programs for the agency News Georgia, which, in turn, is a partner of the Russian media giant Rossiya Segodnya... MORE
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Iranian-Turkish Relations Vis-à-Vis Turkey’s Energy Transit Policy
Despite Western economic sanctions, Iranian-Turkish relations have been developing in many different directions in recent years. Illustratively, on October 24–25, the Eastern Anatolia Development Agency (DAKA), Iran’s Foreign Ministry Institution for Political and International Studies (IPIS) and the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM)... MORE
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Moscow Seeks to Upgrade the Status of Donetsk-Luhansk in Negotiating Formats (Part One)
Russia’s position has always been one of creative ambiguity regarding the recognition of territorial secessions from countries in Europe’s East (Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). In each case, Russian military forces (already in place or intruding) were the direct enablers of secession. The Kremlin’s position on the... MORE
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Defense Minister Alasania’s Ouster Underlines Profound Crisis of Georgia’s Political Elites
The November 4 sacking of Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili (Imedi TV; Rustavi 2, November 4; see EDM, November 5) and Alasania’s Our Georgia–Free Democrats party’s subsequent departure from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition to the opposition (Channel 1... MORE
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Can the Georgian Dream Coalition Survive the Sacking of Defense Minister Alasania?
On November 4, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili sacked Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, who enjoys strong backing in Washington. In response to this development, Euro-Atlantic Integration Minister Aleksi Petriashvili vowed to step down the same day, and Foreign Minister Maia Pandjikidze resigned on November 5... MORE
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Moscow’s Attempt to Annex Abkhazia Serves as a Bitter Lesson to Russia’s Friends and Opponents
On October 13, the Kremlin unveiled the so called “Agreement on Alliance and Integration” between Russia and breakaway Abkhazia (see EDM, October 23). To summarize this long and verbose text, the new treaty envisages a gradual but ultimately complete merger of the separatist region’s defense,... MORE
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Russia Issues Ultimatum to Abkhazia
By the end of October, the authorities in Sukhumi must respond to Moscow’s proposal to sign a new agreement “On Alliance and Integration” between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Abkhazia (abkhaziya.org, October 14). The fact that the draft document was leaked to the... MORE