Latest Articles about South Caucasus
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
YEREVAN MOVES TO DEPOLITICIZE LAW-ENFORCEMENT, JUDICIARY
Armenia is embarking on a sweeping structural reform of its law-enforcement system that is supposed to bring it into greater conformity with European standards. Under a government bill approved by parliament on February 26, Armenian prosecutors will be stripped of their most significant authority: to... MORE
ARMENIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION RACE KICKS OFF
Armenia’s parliamentary elections have officially been scheduled for May 12, ushering in the traditional period of political upheaval that has defined just about every poll held in the country since independence. Although campaigning is to formally get underway in late March, the leading Armenian parties... MORE
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON TOP OF ALIYEV’S AGENDA
On February 13, the government of Azerbaijan organized a major conference on the implementation of the “State Program on Regional Socioeconomic Development.” The program was adopted in 2004, immediately following the election of President Ilham Aliyev, and 2007 marks the third year of its implementation.... MORE
KARS-TBILISI-BAKU RAILROAD: AZERBAIJAN AS LOCOMOTIVE OF REGIONAL PROJECTS
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyp Erdohan witnessed on February 7 in Tbilisi the signing of a tripartite agreement to launch construction work this year on the railroad connecting their countries. The presidents signed a declaration on... MORE
RUSSIA SET TO EXPAND ECONOMIC PRESENCE IN ARMENIA
Russia looks set to enhance its already strong economic presence in Armenia by capitalizing on Armenian President Robert Kocharian’s apparent desire to secure his political future with the Kremlin’s backing. The two governments have indicated that Russian companies will soon get hold of more chunks... MORE
GEORGIA TO SEND, LITHUANIA TO AUGMENT TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN
High-level Georgian-Lithuanian talks on February 2 in Tbilisi included the issue of deploying a Georgian military unit and civilian specialists to Afghanistan with NATO forces there. Lithuania’s Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas, Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekunas, Chief of Staff Brig.-General Vitalijus Vaiksnoras, and Defense... MORE
EVEN STEEP PRICE HIKES IN AZERBAIJAN CAN’T UNIFY OPPOSITION
The start of 2007 has brought new opportunities for Azerbaijan’s opposition parties to revive their activism. The decision of the State Tariff Council to increase prices for gasoline, electricity, and other utilities in January has sparked dissatisfaction from large segments of the population, creating an... MORE
RUSSIA REMAINS IN DENIAL REGARDING EXISTENCE OF NUCLEAR BAZAAR
Last week Georgian Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili disclosed that a sting operation had resulted in the February 1, 2006, arrest in Tbilisi of a Russian citizen, Oleg Khintsagov, who had attempted to sell 100 grams of weapons-grade uranium. The Georgian authorities carried out the sting... MORE