International attention focused on Astana on December 1-2, where the leaders of the 56 member-countries gathered for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit, billed by the Kazakh government as an “epoch-making event.” Kazakhstan ended its chairmanship of the organization in a... MORE

The US Embassy’s February 25, 2010 report from Baku opens an almost panoramic view on the current state of the bilateral relationship (https://cablegate.wikileaks.org). Two aspects stand out in this comprehensive account of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s discussion with the visiting US Under-Secretary of State William... MORE

On November 23, as Georgians marked the seventh anniversary of the Rose Revolution, a peaceful popular protest that opened new opportunities for the South Caucasus nation’s Euro-Atlantic integration, President Mikheil Saakashvili affirmed the country’s European identity as he addressed the European Parliament.(https://www.president.gov.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=228&info_id=5857)On November 19-20, Saakashvili... MORE

Perhaps more than the WikiLeaks themselves, it is the massive security breach and counterintelligence failure that will, for some time to come, discourage candid conversations between the US government and some of its key partners.Azerbaijan is no exception in this regard. In Azerbaijan’s case, however,... MORE

Moscow has expressed its disapproval of a public uproar in Armenia against a government bill allowing the existence of private schools where the main language of instruction is not Armenian. Visiting Yerevan in mid-November, a senior Russian parliamentarian warned there is a sense in Moscow... MORE

On November 19-21 in Tbilisi, Georgia, the Jamestown Foundation and Ilia State University held the second conference in the series on the volatile history and present of the North Caucasus. Part of the conference was dedicated to the issue of the Circassian “genocide,” that produced... MORE

Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, has expressed “moderate” optimism about a near-term resolution of the Karabakh conflict after hosting yet another meeting of his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts. The talks held in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan on October 27 underscored Moscow’s key role in... MORE

Azerbaijan’s upcoming parliamentary elections on November 7 are unlikely to change the distribution of power within the country. As with the previous election to the highest legislative body in 2005, this time pundits are observing a divided opposition, confident ruling party and dozens of independents,... MORE

Azerbaijan’s perceived willingness to hold the next parliamentary elections in an open, transparent and democratic atmosphere has attracted an unprecedented level of international attention for this rapidly evolving, young democracy with one of the fastest growing economies in the world.Paradoxically, more than 25,000 observers are... MORE

On the humanitarian situation, CAP’s study (Center for American Progress,“A New Approach to the Russia-Georgia Conflict,” October 2010, www.americanprogress.org) recommends US support for easing the movement of people and goods across demarcation lines between the secessionist territories and the rest of Georgia. “Ideally,” this would... MORE