![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-caucasus_01.jpg)
Latest Articles about South Caucasus
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Vladimir_Putin__Alyaksandr_Lukashenka__Nursultan_Nazarbayev_in_Minsk_-_EDM_November_6__2013.jpg)
Russia’s Eurasian Integration Projects Threatened by Internal Dissent
On October 24 and 25, Belarus hosted two high-level meetings of heads of state of the Supreme Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). While these gatherings enabled their participants to discuss a wide range of issues... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Irakli_Garibashvili_with_Bidzina_Ivanishvili_-_EDM_November_4__2013.jpg)
Irakli Garibashvili Named as Georgia’s Next Prime Minister
On November 2, outgoing Georgian prime minister and multi-billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili named his protégé, 31-year-old Minister of Interior Irakli Garibashvili, as his successor when he voluntarily steps down as head of government following the November 17 presidential inauguration (Channel 1; Rustavi 2 TV, November 2).... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Russian_Chemical_Weapons_Storage_-_EDM_November_1__2013.jpg)
Eurasian Chemical Weapons Threat Persists
In October 2013, Russian authorities reportedly thwarted a possible attack by militant extremists against the Maradykovo chemical weapons (CW) storage and elimination facility in the Middle Volga region of Kirov. The authorities stated that two young males from the North Caucasus allegedly had bomb components... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Giorgi_Margvelashvili_-_EDM_October_30__2013.jpg)
Georgia Elects Its Fourth President
The Central Electoral Commission of Georgia has finalized the vote count after last Sunday’s (October 27) presidential election (https://www.results.cec.gov.ge). The candidate of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition, Giorgi Margvelashvili, received 62.11 percent of votes cast; the leader of the opposition United National Movement (UNM)... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Giorgi_Margvelashvili_and_Bidzina_Ivanishvili.jpg)
Georgian Presidential Candidate Frontrunner Says He Will Not Run in a Second Round
On October 17, Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili declared that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition’s presidential candidate, Giorgi Margvelashvili, would be well advised not to participate in a second round of the upcoming presidential election should he fail to garner over 50 percent of... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/BTK_railway_construction_-_EDM_October_17__2013.jpg)
The Future of the Railway Link Between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Is Still Vague
Suspending the construction of large infrastructure projects is one of the primary accusations that President Mikheil Saakashvili and his team make against the government of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili in the run up to the presidential elections scheduled for October 27. These projects would arguably... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Georgia-North_Caucasus_border_crossing_-_EDM_October_15__2013.jpg)
Georgia Will Not Turn Away from the North Caucasus, Expert Says
Following the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war, President Mikheil Saakashvili took unprecedented steps to reach out to the North Caucasus (see EDM, May 9, 2012). His government launched multiple “soft power” initiatives as well as cross-cultural and educational exchanges to open the republics of the North... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Ruslan_Kesh_-_EDM_October_15__2013.png)
Activist Says Abkhaz Are Not Genuine Allies of Circassians
Circassians in the North Caucasus were infuriated by the speech delivered by Abkhazia’s president, Alexander Ankvab, at an official celebration. On September 29, the leader of the Georgian breakaway region delivered a speech to a meeting in Sukhumi dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Davit_Usupashvili.jpg)
Georgian Parliament Once Again Alters Constitution
On October 4, the Georgian parliament passed further amendments to the new Georgian constitution. The country’s new constitution was adopted in October 2010 under President Mikheil Saakashvili and will go into effect after the upcoming presidential election on October 27, 2013. It turns the president... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Russia-Abkhazia_border_-_EDM_October_3__2013.jpg)
Authorities in Abkhazia Plan to Strip Georgians of Citizenship
On September 18, a special commission formed to probe the lawfulness of issuing Abkhazian passports (i.e. granting Abkhazian “citizenship”) to ethnic Georgians from the Gali district presented its report to the parliament of the breakaway territory of Abkhazia. The commission came to the conclusion that... MORE