The existing Russian "peacekeeping" operation for Abkhazia is a legacy of the 1993 Russian military intervention in Georgia, the subsequent military advance to the Inguri River, and the ethnic cleansing of the Georgian plurality of Abkhazia's population by the Russian-backed Abkhaz minority. International organizations and... MORE

The Jamestown Foundation's recent visit to Abkhazia showed the results of a decade-long failure by international organizations and the West to initiate genuine peacekeeping and conflict-resolution efforts in the region. Back in 1994, along with the Russian "peacekeeping" deployment, the UN initiated what became known... MORE

Led by the Jamestown Foundation, a group of international analysts and journalists held in-depth talks recently in Sukhumi with self-styled "prime minister" Raul Khajimba, "minister of foreign affairs" Georgii Otyrba, and other Abkhaz representatives. The Sukhumi leaders are citizens of Russia and seem imbued with... MORE

In August, a group of international analysts and journalists led by the Jamestown Foundation visited the Georgian-South Ossetian "conflict zone" at the height of tensions fueled by Russian military activities there. The OSCE Mission contributed to the visit's success by graciously providing briefings, transport, and... MORE

Over the last two days of August, Georgian senior officials, including Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and National Security Council Secretary Gela Bezhuashvili, have vehemently denied media speculation about an impending reorganization of the leadership of the power ministries. "Such reshuffle is not planned," Bezhuashvili told... MORE

Led by the Jamestown Foundation, a group of international analysts and journalists recently held in-depth talks in Tskhinvali with South Ossetian representatives Boris Chochiev and Murad Jioev. The discussion was held at the height of tensions fueled by overt and covert Russian activities in South... MORE

On August 25, Saakashvili fired the Chief of Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, Givi Iukuridze, and replaced him with his Western-educated deputy, Maj. Vakhtang Kapanadze. Saakashvili explained the move as consistent with the desire to build "a new structure, which will meet NATO standards."... MORE

Armed clashes between Georgian and South Ossetian forces have resumed after a 14-year lull. On August 13, overnight gunfire began around 3:00 a.m. and left three Georgian civilians wounded. Three Georgian soldiers were killed and several others injured as a result of shelling in South... MORE

The Azerbaijani leadership is showing its impatience at the continuing diplomatic deadlock over the disputed province of Karabakh. The signals coming out of Baku indicate that the Aliev administration is prepared -- at least in words -- to try to resolve the long-running conflict with... MORE

The hostilities continue in Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia. This week the Georgian and Ossetian sides are accusing each other of firing at villages in the conflict zone. On August 12, beginning 5:30 a.m., Ossetian separatists were shelling ethnic-Georgian-populated villages and moving their heavy... MORE