President Vladimir Putin is visiting Paris this week for the COP21 climate forum, but environmental matters will not be high on his personal agenda. Indeed, probably the only proposal Russia is willing to consider would be to replace coal with natural gas as the main... MORE

This past week (November 15–16), in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, Turkey hosted the G20 summit for the first time. Though normally devoted to high-level political discussions of global economic issues, the recent string of terrorist attacks in Paris (November 13) and elsewhere induced... MORE

Another name has been added to the list of Chechens killed outside Russia: Abdulvakhid Edilgeriev was shot dead last month in Istanbul’s Kayasehir district, which many Chechens have made their home. The murder took place in broad daylight—at about 1:30 p.m., on October 1. The... MORE

Russia’s military intervention in Syria, which on several occasions violated Turkish airspace during airstrikes allegedly targeting the Islamic State (IS), has inflamed tensions between Moscow and Ankara. The main controversy stems from Turkey’s claim that Russia is not only targeting the IS but also moderate... MORE

Turkey has been one of Georgia’s closest economic and political partners in the wider Middle East since the latter country regained its national independence in 1991. Currently, Turkey is Georgia’s biggest trading partner, with a 15.4 percent share of Georgia’s total trade turnover with the... MORE

President Vladimir Putin is heading to New York to address the United Nations with a strong hand, while his United States counterpart, Barack Obama, seems weak and indecisive. According to Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the summit with Obama on September 28 will be dominated... MORE

On August 25, an explosion occurred on a Turkish natural gas pipeline that connects to the South Caucasus Pipeline, which transports gas from Azerbaijan, through Georgia, and into Turkey (Anadolu Agency, August 25). According to the Turkish press, the militant organization the Kurdistan Worker’s Party... MORE

On June 16, the Kurdish militia group People’s Protection Units (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel‎—YPG) and its Free Syrian Army (FSA) allies captured the Islamic State-controlled Syrian town of Tal Abyad on the Turkish border (YPG Rojava, June 16). In addition, in May, a surprise offensive by... MORE

Georgia’s 2008 Law on Occupied Territories explicitly bans all domestic and foreign companies from conducting any type of economic (commercial or non-commercial) activities in the Russian-occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia). Exceptions can be made in certain circumstances but only with the... MORE

The Second World Congress of Crimean Tatars (Butun Dunya Qirim Kongresi—BDQK) took place in Ankara, Turkey, from July 31 to August 2. Among the 600 participants, 410 were registered delegates representing 184 Crimean Tatar organizations from twelve different countries: Ukraine, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,... MORE