With a flurry of conventions and behind-the-scenes discussions, Armenia’s leading political forces have officially begun preparations for upcoming parliamentary elections that will be critical for the political future of President Serzh Sargsyan. The election campaign is shaping up to be essentially a three-horse race between... MORE

Bidzina Ivanishvili acts as proprietary leader of his Georgian Dream movement and lesser dependent groups. Having entered politics only five months ago (October 2011), he sounds confident of winning the upcoming elections, on the strength of the movement that he funds from his wealth. However,... MORE

The latest update of Forbes’ billionaires’ list (www.forbes.com, March 7) raises Bidzina Ivanishvili’s net worth to $6.4 billion, up from the $5.5 billion listed by Forbes and confirmed by Ivanishvili’s office in 2011. The updated figure amounts to more than one half of Georgia’s annual... MORE

Already in 2012, two Iranian terrorist plots against Azerbaijan have been exposed, Moscow has substantially reinforced its garrisons in the Caucasus in expectation of a war involving Iran by this summer, and Russia has also warned Georgia against hosting US troops there for purposes of... MORE

Addressing the Caspian-European Integration Business Club in Baku (Trend, Today.Az, February 29), Azerbaijan’s Industry and Energy Minister Natig Aliyev announced that negotiations on a Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan gas pipeline are advancing, as part of the EU-backed Southern Corridor to Europe. For its part, Azerbaijan is holding meetings... MORE

Armenia plans to hold first-ever joint military exercises with the United States just months after agreeing to a more ambitious cooperation framework with NATO. Highlighting its “complementary” foreign and security policy, Yerevan at the same time seems intent on deepening its already close military ties... MORE

On February 20-26, Georgia marked “Occupation Week,” commemorating the Red Army’s February 1921 occupation of the Georgian Democratic Republic and the latter’s annexation by Soviet Russia. Public events were held in memory of Georgia’s first democratic republic, the victims of the 1921 and 2008 Russian... MORE

The billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the “Georgian Dream” opposition movement, has unveiled the movement’s top team for the upcoming parliamentary elections. A businessman with no previous political experience, Ivanishvili entered politics in October 2011, launched Georgian Dream as a public movement in December, intends... MORE

In their comments released on February 20-22 (see EDM, February 22), unnamed representatives of the Shah Deniz producers’ consortium postponed from mid-2012 to mid-2013 the selection of a pipeline route for Azerbaijani gas to Europe. Whether they spoke for the multinational consortium or for their... MORE

On February 20-22, one or more anonymous representatives of the Shah Deniz gas producers’ consortium announced their preferred pipeline options for transporting Azerbaijani gas to Europe. Of the existing five rival options, those representatives have eliminated one pipeline project; suggested (thus, prejudging) the order of... MORE