Commenting on the latest developments in and around the breakaway South Ossetia region before departing for London on July 12, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili made a remarkable statement. He said that certain forces in Russia want to duplicate the events of 1992, when opposition forces... MORE

Tbilisi and the leaders of South Ossetia nearly came to blows this week, as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili continued his campaign to rein-in separatist republics. South Ossetian paramilitary groups had sealed off the main routes in and out of their capital, Tskhinvali, last month, but... MORE

"I'm leaving my political party and opt for political silence," declared the new chairman of the Georgian Supreme Court, Kote Kemularia, after his strong parliamentary confirmation on June 24 (Dilis Gazeti, June 25). Before becoming the third chairman of the Georgian Supreme Court in the... MORE

NATO's summit in Istanbul on June 26-29 failed to outline a vision for eastward enlargement and stopped short of acknowledging the membership aspirations of the alliance's new neighbors in the Black Sea-South Caucasus region. For the first time since the 1997 Madrid summit, NATO at... MORE

The critical phase in the political situation of the breakaway region of Abkhazia continues, following the June 9 assassination of Gary Aiba, political secretary of the influential Abkhaz political-public movement "Amtsakhara." Effects of the assassination have resonated widely throughout Abkhazia, significantly undermining the government's already... MORE

The pro-governmental "Saakashvili-Victorious Ajaria" party, the Ajarian branch of the ruling "National-Movement-Democrats," scored a landside victory in the June 20 elections in Ajaria. The elections were the first to be held following the downfall of Aslan Abashidze's authoritarian rule. The party received 75% of votes,... MORE

On June 21, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told military journalists that Russia would only withdraw its troops from the Batumi and Akhalkalaki bases after receipt of US$300 million in "cost-offsets." This amount is a throwback to Moscow's opening gambits in earlier stages of negotiations,... MORE

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili's steps toward improving material and technical support for the Georgian army resulted in a significant increase in the military call-up. During the current draft, which started April 26 and will finish July 31, more than 3,000 conscripts have begun service. This... MORE

Bilateral negotiations on Russia's military bases in Georgia were expected to resume this week, but did not. At the last minute, Moscow declined Tbilisi's invitation to hold a two-day round of negotiations. Earlier, the Russian side ignored Tbilisi's proposal to hold a negotiating round on... MORE

During the night of June 11-12, a massive convoy of Russian Army trucks, carrying tarpaulin-covered cargoes, reportedly entered Georgia's territory in South Ossetia via the Roki tunnel from Russian territory. It is assumed that the trucks carried military equipment and troops. The Russian military did... MORE