On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Abkhazia’s authorities on the 20th anniversary of “the republic’s independence.” The anniversary marks the Abkhazian proclamation of independence in 1993, as Sukhumi fell to Russian military forces. “This holiday is a symbol of... MORE

The government of Azerbaijan wants the United States to exert greater influence in the South Caucasus, but is actually seeing less of it under the administration of President Barack Obama; and the ways of that involvement have not always been productive. Azerbaijan continues to believe... MORE

Negotiating a phased withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s territory is the top national security priority for Baku. Recent trends in the region pose additional challenges to Azerbaijan in the run-up to its presidential election. These include: Russia’s growing clout, Armenia’s decision to join the... MORE

On September 19, in Baku, nine European energy companies signed contracts to purchase Azerbaijani natural gas from the Shah Deniz field, Phase Two of production.All nine contracts cover a period of 25 years, starting with the first gas flow into Europe from the Azerbaijani-led Trans-Anatolia... MORE

Georgian Dream leader and Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili stipulated three principal goals in his quest for power (October 2011–October 2012) and as head of government (since November 2012). First, he vowed to remove President Mikheil Saakashvili and the United National Movement (UNM) from government and... MORE

Georgia’s billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili insists he will resign from government and quit politics altogether after the October 27, 2013 presidential election. Ivanishvili first entered politics in October 2011, won the parliamentary elections and took over power at the head of his Georgian Dream... MORE

The international consortium developing Kazakhstan’s super-giant offshore oilfield Kashagan is now on course to start commercial production by October 1, the final deadline set by Kazakhstan’s government. Meeting that deadline will enable the consortium to avoid financial penalties that the government could have imposed in... MORE

“Complementarity,” the term purportedly denoting Armenia’s policy of balance between Russia and the West, has reached the end of the road, and that end is Russia. Long assumed to be the guiding principle of Armenia’s foreign policy, “complementarity” has lost any meaning with Armenia’s decision... MORE

Armenia’s move into Russia’s economic bloc, coupled with its military reliance on Russia, will conclusively reduce Armenia to the status of Russia’s satellite. Armenia’s snub to the European Union is comparable with the 1947 rejection of the Marshall Plan by the Moscow-dominated governments in Central... MORE

On September 3, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Serzh Sargsyan (speaking in that order from Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence) announced their decision that Armenia would join the Russia-led blocs—the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. This decision at one stroke nullifies the Armenia–European Union Association and... MORE