Latest Articles about South Caucasus
RUSSIAN FORCES BEGIN WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA, DIG HEELS IN MOLDOVA
Presented with flowers and Georgian champagne by demonstrators cheering their withdrawal, Russian soldiers set out from the Batumi base at dawn on July 30 in a convoy bound for Russia. The move marks the beginning of Russia’s implementation of the agreement, signed May 30 by... MORE
BAKU ON EDGE AMID REPORTS OF INCREASING TERRORIST MOVEMENTS IN AZERBAIJAN
Several incidents in the last few months suggest that Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, faces a significant terrorist threat. On July 21, two policemen were wounded during a daytime ambush. When the two approached a car near the central market and asked for documents, the... MORE
TBILISI ACCUSES MOSCOW OF SPONSORING TERRORISM
This week the Georgian special services celebrated breakthroughs in two high-profile criminal cases. Shortly after arresting a man accused of throwing a hand grenade at U.S. President George W. Bush in May (see EDM, July 25), the Georgian Interior Ministry made arrests in connection with... MORE
ABKHAZ RHETORIC CALCULATED TO STALL TALKS WITH TBILISI
Abkhaz authorities are derailing political talks with Tbilisi, ostensibly in protest against Georgian actions in a July 3 maritime incident and in its wake. On that day, Georgia's coast guard stopped a Turkish cargo vessel off Pitsunda en route to an Abkhaz port, impounded the... MORE
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION CONSIDERS SUPPORTING CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
The Armenian authorities have been given a major boost in their standoff with the opposition with the Council of Europe's effective endorsement of their draft amendments to Armenia's controversial post-Soviet constitution. Experts from the Venice Commission have declared that the amendments' passage at a referendum... MORE
TBILISI ARRESTS SUSPECT IN BUSH GRENADE INCIDENT, BUT MANY QUESTIONS REMAIN
After an intense search, on July 20 Georgian police arrested an individual suspected of tossing a hand-grenade towards U.S. President George W. Bush during his speech at Tbilisi's Freedom Square on May 10. Vladimir Arutyunian, 27, is an ethnic Armenian resident of Tbilisi. The police... MORE
ARMS RACE IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS: A TIME BOMB?
Locked in a decade-old conflict over Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been increasing their military expenditures over the last few years. Lately this trend seems to have accelerated dramatically. The competition has launched an informal arms race in the South Caucasus that could easily lead... MORE
RUSSIAN TAKEOVER OF ARMENIAN POWER GRID PROMPTS CONCERN
Armenia is under fire from the United States and other Western donors over the legally questionable transfer of its electricity distribution network to Russia's Unified Energy Systems (UES). The deal could have far-reaching repercussions for the country's economic independence and hamper continued Western assistance to... MORE
RUSSIAN AND GEORGIAN MILITARIES BICKER OVER TANK MOVEMENTS
While the Russian military bases in Georgia are scheduled to close in 2008, their continued presence keeps the Georgian leadership on alert. Moscow appears to be using the bases to impede Tbilisi's efforts to bring stability to the country. On July 15, the Georgian military... MORE
SAAKASHVILI REPLACES TBILISI MAYOR WITH PRESIDENTIAL INSIDER
After weeks of vehemently denying media speculation about the imminent dismissal, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili fired Tbilisi Mayor Zurab Chiaberashvili on July 12. Chiaberashvili had called the rumors "a well-planned campaign," coming from people he had accused of stealing from Tbilisi's budget. At the same... MORE