Latest Articles about South Caucasus
More Disagreements Emerge Between Abkhaz and Russian Interests
On June 1, the head of Abkhazia’s state committee on tourism, Tengiz Lakerbaya, lashed out at Sochi Mayor, Anatoly Pakhomov, for publicly diminishing Abkhazia’ touristic value. The criticism followed comments made by Pakhomov on May 28, when he said that Abkhazia had once been popular... MORE
EU’s Special Representatives’ Posts Need Strengthening in Moldova and South Caucasus
Abolishing the EU’s Special Representative posts in Moldova and South Caucasus, as proposed, would look like de-prioritizing the solution of frozen conflicts, and the European neighborhood’s security (“The EU’s Declaration of Impotence,” RFE/RL, June 2).Since their inception in 2003 and 2005, respectively, these posts are... MORE
Ashton’s Office Proposes Abolishing EU’s Special Representatives for Moldova and South Caucasus
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, has proposed abolishing the posts of EU Special Representative for Moldova and for the South Caucasus region, the scenes of “frozen” conflicts in the EU’s neighborhood. Scrapping the two posts would reduce the... MORE
Georgia’s Political Landscape Reshaped After Local Elections
The Christian-Democrat Movement and the Alliance for Georgia laid a basis in recent local elections for the development of genuine opposition parties in Georgia. According to the final returns, these parties took the second and third place, with 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively, of... MORE
Georgia Returns to Stability and Growth After Local Elections
Candidates from Georgia’s governing party, the United National Movement (UNM), won the country-wide local elections on May 30, including the pivotal contest for the Tbilisi municipality, by large margins. The electoral process earned a positive net assessment from Western observers and also by the main... MORE
Turkey Prioritizes Independent Regional Policies in the Middle East and the South Caucasus
Turkey continued its regional diplomacy, following the historic visit by Russian President Medvedev to Ankara (EDM, May 20). Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan paid back-to-back trips to Greece, Iran and Azerbaijan, which underscored Turkey’s rising activism in its neighborhood, as well as highlighting divergence with the... MORE
Dark But Short: Russia’s Shadow on Georgia’s Elections
Russia is casting its dark shadow on Georgia’s electoral campaign, but it is not the proverbial long shadow. Rather, it affects Georgia’s internal politics at its outer fringe, far short of beclouding the political system or any significant voter constituency. Russia’s recently acquired allies in... MORE
Georgian Pre-Election Polls Deflate Opposition’s Expectations
Georgia is holding country-wide local elections on May 30. International and local observers regard these elections as a critical test for Georgia, on four counts.This is the first electoral contest in the country since the August 2008 Russian invasion; and since 1990, this is the... MORE
Turkey: a Source of Strategic Reinsurance for Georgia
Following recent miscalculations regarding Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Armenia, US policy in the South Caucasus also suffers from an erosion of credibility with regard to Georgia. A recent spate of commentaries in US mainstream media has taken cognizance of Washington’s and NATO’s de facto strategic disengagement... MORE
Zurab Noghaideli’s National Council Bandwagons With Russia
On May 13 in Tbilisi, the political bloc “National Council” announced its intention to open representative offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The declared goals are to maintain liaison with Russia’s executive and legislative authorities and also with the Georgian diaspora in Russia (Civil Georgia,... MORE