Latest Articles about South Caucasus
“DE-RECOGNITION” OF GEORGIA’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY DISQUALIFIES RUSSIA AS “PEACEKEEPER”
Russia has practically ceased to recognize Georgia’s territorial integrity. International organizations are as usual behind the curve in taking note of this development and drawing the conclusions from it. Russia had paid lip service to Georgia’s territorial integrity throughout the duration of the conflicts in... MORE
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT IN BAKU: DID HE GET WHAT HE WANTED?
Newly elected President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev paid his first official visit to Azerbaijan where he met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and leaders of the various religious denominations in the country. He also visited the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which preserves the... MORE
GUAM SHOWS ITS RESILIENCE AT BATUMI SUMMIT
The GUAM Summit just held in Batumi (see EDM, July 7) demonstrated that Georgia and Azerbaijan compose GUAM’s solid core; that Ukraine’s governing political forces are committed to GUAM while the evenly matched opposition forces are uncommitted; that Moldova is on the verge of abandoning... MORE
GUAM’S BATUMI SUMMIT BUILDS PARTNERSHIPS AMID CHALLENGES
GUAM consultations with the Partner Countries take place in the specially designed GUAM Plus framework. This operates, as it did in Batumi, through individual formats involving Poland, Lithuania, the United States, and now additionally the Czech Republic and Japan. Presidents Lech Kaczynski of Poland and... MORE
GUAM SUMMIT HELD AMID ADVERSE TRENDS ON ENERGY AND THE FROZEN CONFLICTS
Leaders of the GUAM group of countries--Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova--and of GUAM Partner countries (Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Czech Republic) held the annual GUAM summit on July 1 in Batumi, Georgia. Under the motto, “GUAM: Integrating Europe’s East,” a signal that the European Union... MORE
GEORGIA LAUNCHES A THREE-TRACK DIPLOMATIC EFFORT ON ABKHAZIA
Georgia has ruled out a confrontational response to Russia’s accelerating seizure of Abkhazia since April 16. Eschewing a military standoff, Tbilisi has devised a political-diplomatic response in expectation of Western support for such an approach. The European Union-Russia summit in Khanty-Mansiisk on June 26 and... MORE
GEORGIA HIGH ON THE EU-RUSSIA SUMMIT AGENDA
The European Union has decided to make an issue of Russia’s assault on Georgia at the EU-Russia summit in Khanty-Mansiisk on June 26 and 27. This decision, and the surge of attention to Georgia within the EU, are unprecedented and were almost forced on the... MORE
THE WEST IS CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT TO DO IN ABKHAZIA
Two explosions were reported on the railroad near Sokhumi, the capital of Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia. The explosions happened near the positions of Russian Railroad Troops who are now repairing the tracks that in the future may be used for deploying Russian tanks and... MORE
AZERBAIJAN GEARS UP FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Azerbaijani politicians and political parties are actively discussing amendments to the Election Code. These changes will lay a foundation for the conduct of elections from this year on. The parliament has discussed and approved these changes: henceforth, the campaign period for the presidential elections will... MORE
GAZPROM’S MOVE ON ABKHAZIA: MORE REASONS FOR GEORGIA TO BLOCK RUSSIA’S WTO ACCESSION
Russia’s Gazprom has announced its intention to launch exploration for oil and gas in Abkhazia on July 1, apparently offshore in the Black Sea. According to a notice just circulated by Gazprom’s board, the June 27 shareholders’ meeting will discuss plans by Gazprom, its subsidiary... MORE