Latest Articles about South Caucasus
ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER REPLACES DECEASED PRIME MINISTER
Armenian President Robert Kocharian has appointed his longtime influential associate, Defense Minister Serge Sarkisian, as prime minister, formalizing the latter’s status as Armenia’s second-most powerful leader. The appointment, officially announced on April 4, has been widely anticipated ever since the sudden death on March 25... MORE
POLITICAL SHAKE UP IN AZERBAIJAN SHOWS INCREASING POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT
A series of high-level arrests, court trials, and expulsions from the ruling party in Azerbaijan OVER the last month has stirred up tensions in the higher echelons of power and once again created rumors and speculation that the ruling party is collapsing. Casual observers and... MORE
RETIRED GENERALS SPICE UP ARMENIAN ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Three retired army generals have added an element of intrigue and uncertainty to political life in Armenia with their separate decisions to stand in the parliamentary elections scheduled for May 12. Two of them resigned from the military for that purpose last month and are... MORE
AZERBAIJAN AT THE FOREFRONT OF CASPIAN BASIN ENERGY INITIATIVES
Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov is meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington today to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for energy security. Crafted to a large extent by Deputy Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza during recent visits to... MORE
WHEN STABILITY IS UNCOMFORTABLE: AIR ATTACK ON THE UPPER KODORI VALLEY
Increasing direct evidence as well as strong circumstantial evidence suggests that the air attack on Georgia’s upper Kodori Valley during the night of March 11-12 was carried out by Russian helicopters. An investigative report is due for release in the next few days under a... MORE
RAKHMONOV LAYS FOUNDATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION WITH BAKU
On March 14 Tajikistan’s parliament finally passed legislation updating the country’s “Law on Combating Terrorism.” According to Rano Qayumova, a member of the Assembly of Representatives, the legal reform was designed to comply with recent changes to the structure of central state bodies tasked with... MORE
ARMENIAN DIASPORA GROUPS FACE NEW AZERI CHALLENGE
On March 9, the first meeting of a new “Forum of Azerbaijani-Turkish Diaspora Organizations” convened in Baku, Azerbaijan. But as one participant described the event, “Lots of talk, but I wonder if all of this will turn into a real action. Perhaps the real goal... MORE
GEORGIAN DECLARATION AND PERFORMANCE UNDERSCORE COMMITMENT TO NATO MEMBERSHIP
On March 13 the Georgian parliament approved unanimously in a 160-0 vote a declaration on the country’s aspirations to join NATO. The text was signed in the form of a memorandum by the leaders of all parties represented in parliament -- the governing National Movement... MORE
GEORGIA’S STRATEGIC PARTNER GETS HELP WHEN IT NEEDS IT
Georgia is boosting its troop contributions to U.S.- and NATO-led operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Mikheil Saakashvili announced on March 9 while on a visit to Japan. The Georgian parliament is likely to approve the president’s forthcoming request by a wide margin. In Tbilisi,... MORE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CONDEMNS, RUSSIA SUPPORTS, LATEST ABKHAZ ELECTION
On March 4 residents of Abkhazia held parliamentary elections. According to officials in this separatist region of Georgia, 130,000 registered voters (a 47.25% turnout) chose among 108 candidates vying for 35 seats (Apsnypress, March 5). However, before the outbreak of hostilities Tbilisi had put the... MORE