United Nations-mediated talks on the future of Kosovo present Russia with a potential opportunity to radically alter the geopolitical balance in the Caucasus. If the former Yugoslav province gains independence, Russian leaders have indicated that they might try to use the development as a precedent to secure the separation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia.
Russia's southern Republic of North Ossetia and Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia on March 22-23 held a joint cabinet session in Vladikavkaz. Talks officially focused on ways to boost economic integration between the two Ossetias, which have remained administratively separated since the Soviet era.
Azerbaijan has played a key role in frustrating Russia's efforts to control energy export routes in the Caspian Basin, a new report states. Moscow, however, continues to probe for new ways to gain an advantage in the regional contest for energy dominance.
Officials from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were in Brussels in recent days for another round of talks on "action plans" for closer EU links. Although it is now a year since the European Commission first proposed the "action plans," there is no end in sight to the process. EU officials say the talks have proven complex.
A recent comparative study shows that residents of the three South Caucasus republics have low levels of tolerance for other ethnic groups and people, with a limited understanding of the role of democracy in resolving conflicts.
Turkey is engaged in a major diplomatic push to promote stability in the Caucasus. Ankara's initiatives -- involving Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia -- could play an important role in breaking the long-standing stalemate in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks.
Amid the usual diplomatic exchanges during Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to Armenia there was noteworthy nugget of information: the Russian leader acknowledged publicly that the Commonwealth of Independent States is not a viable organization for the promotion of political and economic integration.
Since the death of his father, Akhmad-hadji Kadyrov, in a terrorist bombing on 9 May, 28-year-old Chechen First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov has emerged as the most powerful and the most feared man in Chechnya despite his lack of formal education and the alleged involvement of his security force in the systematic abduction, torture, and execution of Chechen civilians.
The European Union's decision to pursue membership talks with Turkey could have far-reaching political and economic ramifications for the Caucasus. The accession process can stimulate democratization in the region, experts say.
Ukraine's Orange Revolution and the European Union's decision to begin membership negotiations with Turkey will have far-reaching repercussions for members of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2005. Both of these events will lead to a greater engagement by both the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
