Recommendation to recognize 2010-02-26 22:59 The English press calls for Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s recognition. Publication of the article by a British expert for Caucasus that has long been lobbying Abkhaz interests coincides with Russia’s new call on the OSCE to accept new reality in South Caucasus. Europe offered no reaction either lapsing into deep thinking or simply ignoring…

An attempt to consolidate: win or lose 2010-02-25 22:01 The spring is coming, reviving the political life in Georgia, which traditionally assumes a most unexpected character. In advance of the local elections fixed for May 30, leaders of the numerous oppositional parties quarreled with each other, so the cooperation between the once uncompromising competitors is being negotiated. The balance is changing almost every hour but all the oppositionists stress the necessity of unification. However, the main task – proposing a single candidate for the post of Mayor of the capital –can be so far characterized as an illusive dream.

European Union localizing Eastern Partnership 2010-02-25 17:45 European Union continues working on Eastern Partnership, remaining a distant target for the selected six former USSR republics. At first, Brussels offered the participating countries certain hope for the integration into EU by way of associated membership, while now it reckons upon the rapprochement between Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to regional special representative of the organization Piter Semnebi, the signing of a new agreement is going to become the means of setting up free trade and movement in Tbilisi, Yerevan and Baku.

Georgia’s durability tested by a hurricane 2010-02-25 10:14 Georgia is paying for its warm Transcaucasian climate with regular natural disasters. The damage caused by the strong wind that came upon the country on Monday amounted to over 600 thousand dollars in the capital. Hundreds of buildings and dozens of thousands of people throughout the East Georgia were left without shelter and electricity. The clean-up operations are going to take at least several weeks.

Georgia: head over ears in debt 2010-02-23 20:23 According to Georgian Finance Ministry the volume of the country’s 2009 external debt has increased by almost a third. In March the IMF board of governors plans to decide on granting Tbilisi a new loan - USD 150 million this time. In this situation Georgia is actively hunting for markets to sell its produce though Saakashvili-inspired breakdown of ties with Russia hits the country’s financial sector heavily. A logical question comes up: how great is the foreign donors’ credit of trust to Tbilisi?

Tbilisi set to bring OSCE back 2010-02-23 19:05 Recently David Bakradze, Speaker of Georgian parliament expressed hope that Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship will be a success and the organization’s mission will return to Georgia. As we know, numerous attempts to prolong the mandate of monitors made at the OSCE Permanent Council sessions were of no effect forcing the OSCE monitors to leave South Caucasus in the end. Does Georgia’s proposal have a future?

Will the Russian ships stay in Sevastopol? 2010-02-20 00:42 The military agreements signed between Russia and Abkhazia this week sprang up a lot of rumors in the world informational space concerning the possible transference of the Black Sea fleet from the Crimea to the Abkhaz port of Ochamchira after 2017. As is known, according to an agreement with Ukraine, Russia is to withdraw its fleet from Sevastopol right by that time. At the same time, according to the joint border control document, the FSS Border Control cutters are already patrolling the Abkhaz shore. Is the prospect of shifting the location of the Russian ships within the former USSR territory real?

Tbilisi renders an account 2010-02-18 23:48 Russia owes Georgia 40 billion dollars for preventing it from conquering the Abkhaz and the Ossetians in the 90s by way of fire and bloodshed. That is the amount of the damage caused by the presence of the Russian military troops and companies in Abkhazia and South Ossetia; the figure was voiced by Head of the Parliamentary Commission for Territorial Integrity Restoration Shota Malashkhia in his interview to a Russian newspaper. However, this money is never going to be retrieved and the fact of the damage will never be proven to court.

He that is with Nogaideli is against us 2010-02-18 22:45 Once again the Georgian opposition is trying to unite its forces in advance of the elections. The compromise seemed to be achieved. Leader of Alliance for Georgia Irakliy Alasania gave up his personal claims of the post of Mayor of Tbilisi and decided to take part in the oppositional primaries. He even agreed to cooperate with Zurab Nogaideli’s party. But all of a sudden, the former prime minister’s alliance mates, the New Rights and the Republicans, definitely said “no”. Is the split inevitable?