Kavkaz

GEORGIA “Even though Georgia officially withdraws CIS membership tomorrow, under 1969 Vienna Convention, it remains party to about 75 international agreements signed within CIS format,” Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister David Djalagania told today a traditional briefing. “In August last year, a CIS sovereign country declared war to another sovereign state …

WASHINGTON, US The Pentagon confirmed Friday that it is sending a team of trainers to Georgia to instruct a Georgian battalion which will be deployed to Afghanistan next year. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters at a briefing here that the U.S. trainers will arrive in Georgia on Monday to …

Friendly talks between the leaders of Germany and Russia have been dominated by trade and investment, but also covered human rights. President Dmitry Medvedev and Chancellor Angela Merkel met in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. The Kremlin has said the global economic recession presents positive bilateral opportunities. Medvedev said: …

The latest killings illustrating Russia’s difficulty with security along its southern flank were in the early hours of Friday — seven women in Dagestan, where a newspaper editor lost his life on Tuesday. Islamist rebels shot the women at around the same time as separatists killed four policemen at a …

Stockholm – The European Union on Thursday criticized Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia. ‘The EU does not consider this visit compatible with the principle of territorial integrity nor helpful for the international efforts to stabilise the region,’ said a statement issued …

SUKHUMI, Russia Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Wednesday visited Abkhazia, promising to build a military base at its border with Georgia. The Times of London reported Putin chose to travel to Sukhumi, Abkhazia’s capital, on the first anniversary of the cease-fire ending Russia’s war with Georgia.

Russian news reports say two people were killed and several others wounded in a bomb blast in Abkhazia during Wednesday’s visit by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Mr. Putin’s one-day trip to the Georgian breakaway territory was the first by a top Russian official since Moscow last year recognized Abkhazia’s …

The anniversary of last August’s war in the Caucasus was always going to be a sensitive occasion. But the surprise visit of Russian Prime Minister to the breakaway region of Abkhazia has triggered renewed tension between Moscow and its defeated foe Georgia. During the trip Putin promised massive military spending …

YEREVAN, Armenia The main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) has pledged to organize antigovernment protests to press for the release of 21 jailed supporters, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. Levon Zurabian, the HAK’s central office coordinator, said, “We are going to mount a new wave of protests.”

Russia is to spend almost $500m (£300m) next year reinforcing its military bases in Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia, the prime minister says. Vladimir Putin’s announcement came as he arrived in Abkhazia for talks. He said Russia was committed to defending and financing the small strip of land in Georgia’s …