Latest Articles about South Caucasus
PRESIDENT ALIEV VISITS IRAN, DESPITE U.S.-IRANIAN TENSIONS
While local newspapers and political analysts continue to speculate about whether the United States will attack Iran during President George W. Bush's second term, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev departed for a three-day official visit to Tehran. Turan News Agency reported on January 24 that eight... MORE
GEORGIAN PRESIDENT LAUNCHES SOUTH OSSETIA PEACE INITIATIVE
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg on January 26, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili unveiled an offer of full autonomy for South Ossetia. Under this offer, South Ossetia would enjoy -- both de facto and de jure -- a higher... MORE
SOUTH OSSETIA OFFERS TO BARGAIN WITH TBILISI FOR RELEASE OF SUSPECTED MURDERERS
While Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is preparing to address the January 26 session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with "unprecedented" peace proposals for Georgia's breakaway regions, a hostage drama in South Ossetia threatens to cloud his plans. On January 19, the... MORE
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S “CRUSADE” AGAINST TAX EVASION FAILS TO IMPRESS
Armenian President Robert Kocharian has announced a major crackdown on tax evasion, which is widely blamed for the highly uneven distribution of the benefits of Armenia's robust economic growth. In separate high-profile meetings with the leaders of his government's taxation and customs administration services earlier... MORE
BORDER MONITORING IN GEORGIA : THREE NONSTARTERS, ONE OPTION
With every passing week, Russia is coming closer to success in its efforts to eliminate the international presence on the Georgian side of the Georgia-Russia border. Having forced the termination of the OSCE's unarmed Border Monitoring Operation (BMO) as of January 1, Moscow now resists... MORE
WILL ASYMMETRICAL FEDERALISM WORK FOR ABKHAZIA?
The Georgian government has crafted a new framework to facilitate the reintegration of Abkhazia and South Ossetia into the Georgian state. A special blueprint drafted by the National Security Council reportedly proposes an asymmetric federation with an unprecedented degree of sovereignty for Abkhazia. Giorgi Khaindrava,... MORE
NEW ELECTION COALITIONS IN AZERBAIJAN PROMISE HEATED PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Two newly formed election coalitions have awakened Azerbaijan 's seemingly indifferent political scene, promising heated parliamentary elections later this year. On January 10, 26 NGOs and representatives from various political parties formed a new election coalition, "Solidarity and Trust." Ilgar Gasimov, chairman of the public... MORE
MOSCOW THREATENS GEORGIA AS BUSH-PUTIN SUMMIT NEARS
Testing the West's collective credibility, Russia is again fabricating pretexts for possible military action on Georgian territory, ostensibly to go after "Chechen and international terrorists" in the Pankisi Gorge. This latest cycle of threats is more dangerous than previous ones because Moscow has just dictated... MORE
FORMER ABKHAZ PRESIDENTIAL RIVALS UNITE UNDER PRESSURE FROM MOSCOW
Georgia's breakaway region Abkhazia holds a second round of its presidential elections today (January 12). Sergei Bagapsh claimed victory in the initial election on October 3, 2004. However, Russian officials soon arrived in Abkhazia to annul the result. Russia forced Bagapsh to re-run the election,... MORE
RIVAL GEORGIAN MINISTERS CROSS SWORDS
Last week, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was forced to mediate between two bickering members of his government. Ultimately, Saakashvili reached a temporary truce in the standoff between Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili and his predecessor, Gia Baramidze, currently State Minister for European Integration. Baramidze had replaced... MORE