Eastern Europe

Turkey and Black Sea Security: Ten Years After the War in Georgia

By Dimitar Bechev

The 2008 war between Georgia and Russia was a critical test for Turkey. It highlighted Ankara’s delicate balancing act between the West and Russia, one that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is still pursuing today. The conflict presented a formidable challenge. Georgia was not just another neighbor for Turkey – the two countries had built robust […]

A Decade After War With Russia, Georgia Continues its Path Westward

By Mary Trichka and Margaret Meiman

The Russo-Georgian War lasted a brief five days, but its impact is still felt deeply in Georgia and throughout the region. Ten years later, Russia exerts ever-growing influence on Georgia, occupying one-fifth of the country’s territory – the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia – and using this position to project its power throughout […]

Enlarge NATO to Ensure Peace in Europe

By Damon Wilson and David J. Kramer

Exactly ten years ago, Russian forces attacked Georgia, bringing to a violent end a nearly two-decade long advance of a Europe whole and free. In the wake of NATO’s failure to agree on how to advance the membership aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine at its Bucharest Summit months earlier, Moscow acted to block those prospects […]

Russian Prime Minister Threatens Conflict If Georgia Joins NATO

By Andrew Osborn, Reuters

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that any future NATO decision to admit Georgia to its ranks could trigger “a terrible conflict”

Putin Warns NATO Against Closer Ties with Ukraine and Georgia

By Vladimir Putin and Reuters

Excerpt from speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin, July 19, 2018.

Wilson Testifies Before the US Helsinki Commission on “Russia’s Occupation of Georgia and the Erosion of the International Order”

Russia’s Occupation of Georgia and the Erosion of the International Order Testimony beforeThe Commission on Security and Cooperation in EuropeU.S. Helsinki Commission Damon M. WilsonExecutive Vice PresidentAtlantic Council Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 124 Time: 11:00 A.M.Date: Tuesday, July 17, 2018 View the full testimony here WILSON: Chairman Wicker, Co-Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Cardin, Ranking […]

Poroshenko Expects Ukraine to be a Priority When Trump Meets Putin

By David Wemer

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expects Russia’s role in the conflict in his country to be a priority when US President Donald J. Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16. Poroshenko said that meeting, the first summit between Trump and Putin, could go either way, but trusted that “Ukraine would be among […]