Little more than a week after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton took a stroll in Russia’s alleged sphere of influence, reports are emerging that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev may also be packing for the Caucasus. Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian news media today reported that Medvedev will visit Baku and Yerevan later this summer.
Azerbaijan's 1News.az claims that Medvedev plans to sign a border treaty with Baku during his September visit; Russia's ITAR-TASS reports that Medvedev will head to Yerevan in August for a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The summit is reportedly expected in "the second half of August," according to News.am.
The Kremlin has not confirmed the news yet, but such visits could provide a fresh episode in the ongoing soap opera about Washington and Moscow's struggle for influence in the region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are both trying to maintain a delicate balance between the two big brothers. By contrast, one place in the South Caucasus where Medvedev cannot set his feet, but any US official is always welcome is Georgia.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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