 RFE/RL Caucasus Report 9/24/2010 5:21:34 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region. For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page . |
 Obama, Aliyev Meet In New York As Washington Seeks To Improve Ties U.S. President Barack Obama and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on September 24. Washington is keen to repair frayed relations with Baku, but it faces a delicate balancing act. More  Armenian Coalition Parties Downplay Rumors Of Discord With 18 months to go before the next scheduled parliamentary elections, Armenian oligarch Gagik Tsarukian has called on his Bargavach Hayastan party (BHK), one of the two junior partners in the coalition government, to intensify its activities "at all levels." That appeal is likely to fuel persistent rumors of a rift between the BHK and President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). More  Armenia Officer Prosecuted Over Hazing Video Armenia's Defense Ministry has officially confirmed the identity of an army officer who was arrested last week for abusing his soldiers and is now facing up to five years in prison. More  Interview: Zakayev Says ‘No Irresolvable Issues’ Between Russia, Chechnya Akhmed Zakayev, head of the Chechen government in exile, returned to London on September 22 following his brief detention in Poland on an international arrest warrant requested by Russia. He says he will return to Poland when necessary to participate in an extradition hearing. Zakayev spoke with RFE/RL's Russian Service about his experience in Poland and about the status of the Chechen independence movement. More  Abkhaz Vice President Survives Fourth Assassination Attempt Aleksandr Ankvab escaped with minor shrapnel wounds when an unknown attacker opened fire with a grenade launcher on his home in Gudauta early this morning. It was the fourth (possibly even the fifth) attempt on his life in the past five years. More  Georgian Parliament To Debate Constitutional Amendments In First Reading The Georgian parliament will meet in emergency session to approve the draft amendments to the new constitution in the first reading, even before the Council of Europe's Venice Commission unveils its final assessment and recommendations. Meanwhile, Georgian opposition politicians continue to demand changes to the draft amendments. More  Azerbaijan -- A Questionable Partner For The West Instead of futile and shortsighted efforts aimed at pleasing the ruling Azerbainjani dynasty, Elmar Chakhtakhtinski argues that Western policies should focus on supporting those forces within Azerbaijan that promote the shared values of democracy and individual liberties. More  Karabakh Armenians Expect No Progress From Peace Talks The ethnic Armenian leadership of the Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh has downplayed expectations from talks expected between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in New York this week. More  Armenian Opposition Leader Snubs Government Invitation Armenian opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian snubbed President Serzh Sarkisian's invitation to attend an official reception dedicated to the country's Independence Day and celebrated it with his supporters instead. More  Nominee For U.S. Envoy To Azerbaijan Wins Key Backing U.S. President Barack Obama's choice for U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan has cleared a key congressional hurdle by winning approval from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. More  Umarov Dismisses Renegade Commanders In a new 12-minute video clip posted today on kavkazcenter.com and hunafa.com, North Caucasus insurgency head Doku Umarov announces the dismissal of the four Chechnya-based field commanders who withdrew their formal pledge of loyalty to him last month. More  Cross Controversy Mars Historic Church Service In Turkey For the first time in nearly a century, Armenians have been allowed to conduct a religious service in a recently renovated island church in eastern Turkey, in an event that Ankara intended as a show of tolerance toward its Christian minority. More  Tatar Strongman's Departure Boosts Chechen Ambitions To Become Top Muslim Region Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has been actively promoting his republic as Russia's new Muslim hub. The recent departure of Tatarstan's strongman leader has fired up his ambitions, but Tatars are not impressed. More  In Eurasia, Millions Worry About Beloved Buckwheat Devastating fires and droughts are not the only consequences of the heat wave that hit much of the former Soviet Union this summer. Millions of people across the region are now hit by another misfortune: buckwheat shortages. More  Church Controversy Fuels Fresh Turkey-Armenia Tensions A planned religious service at an Armenian church in eastern Turkey is threatening to descend into a major dispute between the two nations, still bitterly divided over their troubled history. More  What Does ‘Confederation’ Mean In The South Caucasus? Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has mentioned the idea of a “confederation” with Azerbaijan. The phrase quickly got people wondering what exactly the president had in mind. More Poland Frees Chechen Exile Zakayev A police spokesman said Zakayev was detained on the street and taken under police escort to the prosecutors' office. More  Waving The Banner Of Azerbaijan's New Oil Boom Twenty years after Azerbaijan gained its independence, the country is experiencing a second oil boom. Only this time, Elnur Aslanov argues, Azerbaijan is in charge of its natural resources and Azerbaijani citizens are reaping the benefits. More  Chechen Separatist Leader In Poland In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, exiled Chechen separatist leader Akhmed Zakayev has confirmed that he is in Poland to attend the World Chechen Congress, despite plans by Polish police to arrest him. More  Hagiography, Bomb-Making, And A Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe Over the past five years, the North Caucasus insurgency has become adept at using the Internet as a powerful publicity tool to showcase successful attacks on Russian and pro-Russian military and security personnel, to promulgate its message of jihad, and to recruit new fighters to its ranks. More  Umarov Explains His Seeming Inconsistency North Caucasus insurgency leader Doku Umarov has released a video statement, posted on the insurgency websites kavkazcenter.com and islamdin.com, explaining the circumstances in which he offered earlier this summer to step down from that post, and why he subsequently retracted that decision. More  Georgian President Rejects Venice Commission Criticism Of New Constitution Meeting with legislators from his United National Party, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said he "categorically disagrees" with specific criticisms by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission of the amendments to the Georgian Constitution currently under discussion. More  Chechen Diaspora Upstages Kadyrov The World Chechen Congress that represents the estimated 200,000 Chechens currently in exile in Europe and elsewhere plans to convene in Warsaw to draft a new strategy for ending the ongoing war in the North Caucasus before it escalates to the point that other countries and military blocs become involved. More  Is Armenia Russia's Partner Or Pawn? Richard Giragosian argues that a new agreement may deal a further blow to Armenian sovereignty by deploying additional Russian border guards to Armenia's other borders, with Iran and Georgia, if not Azerbaijan. More |
