Latest Articles about Military/Security
FSB Assigned Control Over Operations in Chechnya and the North Caucasus
Events in Chechnya have once again grabbed the headlines this week. Most notable among them was the review of activities for the years of 2003 through 2008 undertaken at an enlarged session of the Operations Headquarters for Chechnya and the North Caucasus, chaired by Russian... MORE
Violence and Political Turmoil Link South and North Ossetia
On October 13, the investigative committee of the Russian prosecutor-general’s office announced that a criminal group had been uncovered, which had carried out a number of high-profile killings in North Ossetia in 2007-2008. The victims included both the acting and a former mayor of Vladikavkaz... MORE
Rebels and Police Killed and Wounded in North Caucasus Violence
Fighting between security forces and militants continued in Chechnya and Ingushetia this week, with dead and wounded reported on both sides.A police official in Chechnya reported today (October 16) that a militant was killed in a shootout in the village of Eshelkhatoi in Chechnya’s southeastern... MORE
Postponed Military Exercise Tests Turkish-Israeli Cooperation
Turkish-Israeli relations face a new test over Ankara's decision to change the format of a joint international military exercise to a national exercise. Following some Israeli officials' charges that the move was based on political motivations, the Turkish side called on Tel Aviv to behave... MORE
Turkish Political Actors Reassess Their Stance on the Kurdish Initiative
Since the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement in August concerning the implementation of measures to resolve the Kurdish question, the debate over the government’s Kurdish initiative has intensified (EDM, August 14, 21, September 10, 21). One of the major criticisms of the Justice... MORE
Negotiations on the Transnistria Conflict in a Deep Freeze
Authorities in Tiraspol are watching the political deadlock in Chisinau with barely concealed satisfaction. Moldova’s political and constitutional crisis since April has further deepened the freeze on both tracks of negotiations on the Transnistria conflict: the international 5+2 format and the bilateral right bank –... MORE
An Azeri Jamaat or a Jamaat in Azerbaijan?
One of the trends surfacing in news reports about the North Caucasus insurgency this year is the presence of Azeri fighters within the rebel ranks. Chechnya’s president Ramzan Kadyrov also pointed a finger at Azerbaijan in a recent interview, claiming: “Most of the ammunition warehouses... MORE
Violent incidents reported in Ingushetia, Dagestan and Chechnya
Shootouts between insurgents and police and other violent incidents have been reported across the North Caucasus this week, a week which also marked the second anniversary of the proclamation of the Caucasus Emirate, the notional Islamic state declared by the radical Islamist wing of the... MORE
War Talk: Perceptual Gaps in “Chindia” Relations
Until 2005, Chinese public perceptions of India were generally benign, even bordering on benign neglect. Yet, a radical change in Chinese public attitudes toward India has noticeably taken place since then and it can be attributed in part to an increasing number of Chinese strategic... MORE
Moldova’s Post-Communist Government Adopts Previous Policy on Transnistria
Moldova's new government of the Alliance for European Integration (AEI) has inherited a deeply frozen negotiation process on the Transnistria conflict. Russia, a direct participant in the conflict, with troops in place, continues successfully to evade responsibility by portraying it as an internal Moldovan conflict... MORE