Russia says it is gathering evidence for charges of genocide against Georgia, accusing it of driving 30,000 refugees out of South Ossetia. Georgia responded by filing a case against Russia at the International Court of Justice for ethnic cleansing between… Read moreRussia, Georgia trade genocide accusations
British Petroleum has closed both the Baku-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa pipelines through Georgia, while denying that either of them have actually been damaged in the fighting. The closure of the Baku-Supsa or Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP) further limits BP’s export… Read moreGeorgia war closes Baku-Ceyhan pipeline
Oil prices surged Aug. 11 on concerns that fighting between Russia and Georgia could threaten the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. Crude was up by $1.19 to $116.39 a barrel in New York. It rose $1.81 to $115.14 a barrel in London. (London Evening… Read moreRussian assault on Georgia: it’s the oil, stupid!
Georgian authorities say Russian warplanes are targeting the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and have carried out over 50 air-strikes near the conduit. A BP-led consortium operates the pipeline, which transports one million barrels a day from Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean. “They need… Read moreRussia bombs Baku-Ceyhan pipeline?
Georgia is calling home 1,000 of its 2,000 troops in Iraq for a general mobilization to fight Russian-backed separatists in South Ossetia. Georgia’s national security chief Kakha Lomaia said Tbilisi ordered the withdrawal to “defend ourselves from Russian aggression.” (AGI,… Read moreGeorgia calls home troops from Iraq to fight in South Ossetia
Georgia declared a cease-fire following an outburst of heavy fighting with separatist forces in the breakaway region of South Ossetia Aug. 7. Georgia is blaming Russia for the escalation of violence. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in televised remarks: “The… Read moreGeorgia battles separatists in South Ossetia
A series of explosions in three towns in the Georgian separatist region of Abkhazia—Gagra, Sukhumi, and Gali—and a skirmish between Georgian and separatist forces in the Georgian-controlled Upper Kodori Gorge topped the agenda as Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili met with… Read moreGeorgian provocation behind Abkhazia terror?
From Human Rights Watch, June 25: Russia: Stop ‘Dirty War’ Tactics in Ingushetia Killings, Torture, Disappearances in Chechnya-Style Counterinsurgency Moscow – The Chechnya armed conflict has spread human rights abuses and instability across the North Caucasus, and particularly in Ingushetia,… Read moreRussia wages “dirty war” in Ingushetia
Thousands marched in Yerevan April 24, the 93rd anniversary of the start of the mass killing campaign of at least 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. More than 10,000, mostly youths and students, carried torches and candles, demanding Turkey… Read moreArmenian genocide commemoration highlights struggle for Caucasus
Officials in Georgia are seeking to use the alleged downing of a Georgian reconnaissance drone by a Russian warplane to build international support for reducing the Kremlin’s “peacekeeping” role in the separatist enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia’s Foreign… Read moreAbkhazia: new Cold War frontline?
Eight people are reported killed in overnight clashes between police and opposition protesters in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, March 2. The protesters, who have rallied in the capital for 12 days, accuse the government of rigging last month’s presidential election…. Read moreEight dead in Armenia political violence
In contrast to their Cold War counterparts of yesterdecade, who openly embraced any dictator who was “our son of a bitch,” today’s neocons often seem to really believe their own rhetoric about how their global project is expanding democracy. This… Read moreGeorgia: Rose Revolution meets the new boss
