In late May–early June, the “world championship” of the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) took place in the breakaway Georgian territory of Abkhazia. Twelve soccer teams from internationally unrecognized territories participated. CONIFA is a federation of football associations that was established in 2013 (Sputnik-abkhazia.ru,... MORE

On June 3, the Armenian National Assembly’s (parliament) Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs approved the draft agreement with Russia on establishing a joint regional air defense system (see EDM, November 18, 2015). The National Assembly was expected to vote on the agreement before breaking for... MORE

The Tbilisi Court of Appeals upheld, on June 10, the earlier decision of the city court mandating changing the ownership of the prominent Georgian opposition TV channel, Rustavi 2. The media outlet, which is closely connected to the formerly ruling United National Movement (UNM), belongs... MORE

Work on the Southern Gas Corridor’s (SGC) implementation intensified to an unprecedented degree in recent months. On March 17 and May 17, the ground breaking ceremonies of two key constituent parts of the Southern Corridor—the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)—were held, respectively,... MORE

The periodic escalation of violence in and around the separatist Azerbaijani territory of Karabakh routinely raises concerns about this conflict’s threat to regional energy security and pipeline infrastructure. However, few commentaries analyze this issue’s broader geopolitical implications in any detail. The intense fighting between the... MORE

Muslim al-Shishani is the nom de guerre of Murad Margoshvili, commander of the Junud al-Sham (“Soldiers of Syria”) insurgent group operating in Syria. Margoshivili is a Georgian national, but he is also an ethnic Kist, a member of the Chechen sub-ethnic group that lives in... MORE

Giorgi Vashadze, a high-ranking member of Georgia’s formerly ruling United National Movement (UNM) and a member of the Georgian parliament, left his political party on May 5. Immediately, he unleashed harsh criticism for the organization to which he had pledged his allegiance for more than... MORE

Last month’s deadly skirmishes along the line of conflict in Karabakh (April 2–5), the so-called “four-day war,” highlighted the need for a reinvigorated international mediation effort. Immediately afterward, Russia appeared ready to take the initiative. The ceasefire agreement brokered by Moscow, on April 5, followed... MORE

A ship carrying United States military equipment arrived at the Georgian Black Sea port of Poti, on May 5. The equipment, which included US M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, was ferried from the Bulgarian port of Varna and will take part... MORE

Serious renewed violence broke out between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan last month (April 2–5, 2016), with fighting in the separatist Azerbaijani region of Karabakh reaching levels not seen since the ceasefire of 1994. One the distinctive features of the recent escalation, which... MORE