The Caucasus

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 […]

Here’s Why Georgia Must Be on the Agenda of a Trump-Putin Summit

By George Tsereteli

As the ten-year anniversary of the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia approaches, there will be a brief spike in policy suggestions and attention paid to the small Caucasian nation. The reality, unfortunately, is that the five-day war in August 2008 is now mostly cited in the context of being the event that took place prior […]

Syria Just Backed Russia’s Illegal Occupation of Georgian Regions

By Mikheil Janelidze

Last week, Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria illegally recognized Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (so-called South Ossetia), two historic regions of Georgia, as independent states. This was done undoubtedly at the behest of Assad’s main patron—Russia. With this act, the Assad regime declared its support for Russia’s military aggression against Georgia, the illegal occupation of Abkhazia and […]

Why the Bucharest Summit Still Matters Ten Years On

By Walter Zaryckyj

A decade ago, I received a four word message from a close German acquaintance who had accompanied Chancellor Angela Merkel to the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, that was tasked to decide whether to provide Georgia and Ukraine with a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). It read: “Yes, but not now!” Having just seen a […]