Latest Articles about South Caucasus
Georgian Radical Opposition Launches Seasonal Offensive
Georgia’s extra-parliamentary opposition has launched its annual spring offensive in the streets, for regime change outside the constitutional framework. This campaign has become an annual occurrence since the spring of 2007, regardless of economic cycles or the government’s economic performance, which is highly rated internationally... MORE
The US and Azerbaijan: Unraveling a Strategic Partnership?
The hitherto strong relations between the US and Azerbaijan have hit a low point following the US-facilitated signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols on October 10, 2009. If ratified, the protocols would lead to establishing diplomatic ties between Turkey and Armenia and re-opening their joint border... MORE
Frustrated Armenia Freezes Accords With Turkey
Armenia has suspended the universally welcomed process of normalizing its relations with Turkey, after months of frustration with Ankara’s linkage between its successful completion and a resolution of the Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. Still, in an announcement made by President, Serzh Sargsyan, on April... MORE
US Conflict Resolution Policy Backfires in Yerevan
The US State Department seems disappointed, but not entirely surprised, by Yerevan’s April 22 suspension of Armenian-Turkish “normalization.” Assistant Secretary of State, Philip Gordon, in charge of this policy, finds solace in Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan’s decision to suspend, rather than terminate the effort; and... MORE
Armenia Suspends US-Backed Normalization of Relations With Turkey
On April 22, Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan, announced a unilateral suspension of the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations –a process driven by the United States on its own terms of reference. In follow-up statements on April 24, Sargsyan interprets the goal of normalization as being... MORE
Is the United States Losing Azerbaijan? : Part Four
US officials claim that improving Turkish-Armenian relations and opening the border would change the whole atmosphere in the region and induce Yerevan to be flexible on troop withdrawal. Using this argument, Washington insists on separating the border-opening issue from the troop withdrawal issue, pressing for... MORE
Is the United States Losing Azerbaijan? : Part Three
Some 15 years ago Azerbaijan cast its lot in almost existential ways with the United States and Turkey. Although it was never strain-free in Washington, and fulfilled only a part of its strategic potential, the US-Azerbaijan relationship worked to mutual benefit on energy and international... MORE
Is the United States Losing Azerbaijan? : Part Two
Washington’s current policies seem about to turn the US-Azerbaijan strategic partnership, from an operational concept into an empty phrase, when it is ever uttered on the US side.On April 19 the US-Azeri military exercise Regional Response 2010, scheduled to be held in May in Azerbaijan,... MORE
Is the United States Losing Azerbaijan?: Part One
Azerbaijan’s long-standing alignment with the United States is rapidly unraveling in the wake of Washington’s recent policy initiatives. As perceived from Baku, those US initiatives fly in the face of Azerbaijan’s staunch support over the years to US strategic interests and policies in the South... MORE
Erdogan Reconnects Turkish-Armenian Normalization to Progress on Karabakh
On the sidelines of the nuclear summit in Washington on April 12-13, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sargsyan, discussed the Turkish-Armenian normalization efforts which currently face stalemate. Following the meeting, they reaffirmed their support for the normalization process,... MORE