... bodies, ideological and political symbols.
When the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia was recognised in August 2008, it was the Caucasus that saw the precedent of changed borders between the former Soviet republics.
It was in the Caucasus that Georgia, in its bid for NATO membership, held a referendum on acceding to the alliance and over two-thirds of Georgians voted for accession. Consequently, strategic cooperation with NATO was, in addition to rhetoric,
bolstered
by a popular vote.
The ...
... insisted for the last five years that Russia could not return to the organization after losing voting rights back in 2014 over its actions in Ukraine, suddenly resolved the issue in a matter of weeks and welcomed Russia back into its fold.
And over in Georgia, mass protests sparked by the ill-fated appearance of a Russian Duma deputy in the Georgian parliament resulted not in the usual cannonade of propaganda by Russia, the EU, and the United States, but in a weary shrug.
These events do not signify ...
... and Russia. Corruption is a big issue to deal with in Ukraine, but also in Russia. However, corruption on (somehow) comparative levels, has not prevented enormous economic development in other countries like China and India, or even Brazil and Mexico.
Georgia
The situation in Georgia cannot be solved by force. Years ago, the US engineered the downfall of Shevardnadze’s Russia-friendly Georgia. The next Georgian leader (who now has an international arrest order from Georgia for corruption) tried ...
... to join. This is not NATO reaching out to nations, invading them, inveigling them to join the Alliance. This is democratic nations of their own free will wishing to contribute to and receive the benefit of collective defense and security.
Should the Georgia – process be finalized soon, how do you see Russia – NATO dialogue moving forward from this point? This very aspect of our relations seems to be most sensitive militarily.
Dmitry Danilov:
NATO–Russia Council: What Are the Outcomes?
I accept ...
... the International Crisis Group (ICG) (2006), and by Nodia (1998) (EURII, 66-69; Khazanov 1996, 6; ICG 2006, 3-4; Nodia 1998, 14). Nodia sums up Georgian views: “Abkhazia is Georgia, because it has always been part of Georgia when it was united. Georgians cannot see Abkhazia as a ‘foreign‘ land which was once conquered by them, and the accusation of imperialism usually makes them furious” (Nodia 1998, 19). Jans (1998) sums up the intersection of Georgian and Abkhazian thought, in that after the Cold War they were engaged in a quest for identity since “[d]emocracy, understood ...
... Editor-in-Chief of the International Trends journal
Reflections in the footsteps of Victoria Nuland’s Transcaucasia tour
For several days now, the Russian media has been abuzz over what one journalist dubbed the “explosive” tour of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia taken by Victoria Nuland, whom it has referred to as assistant to the U.S. Secretary of State, but who is actually the assistant to the Under Secretary of State. Interest in Nuland is being fueled by a distorted assessment of her ...
