Tag Archives: border disputes

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan on civilian killing

SEPT. 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia-backed authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh accused Azerbaijan of shelling a civilian area and killing three women. The accusation marks a heightening of tension around the disputed region. Violence is a feature of the region but civilian deaths are not common.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 249, published on Sept. 25 2015)

Azerbaijan and Armenia foreign ministers to meet

SEPT. 15 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will meet in New York on the fringes of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 24/25, media quoted Azerbaijani foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov as saying. Azerbaijan and Armenia are still officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 248, published on Sept. 18 2015)

Fighting by Armenian-backed separatists

SEPT. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Shelling along the de facto border around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh killed at least one Armenian solider, media reported quoting Armenian sources. Sporadic fighting around Nagorno- Karabakh, which is controlled by Armenian-backed separatists, is fairly commonplace.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Georgia accuses Russia of helicopter flight

AUG. 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s government accused Russia of flying a military helicopter into its air space around the border of the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Earlier this year South Ossetian forces apparently grabbed a slither of Georgian territory. Russia is also staging large scale military exercises in South Ossetia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 244, published on Aug. 21 2015)

Georgia accuses Russia of provocative war games

JULY 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – TBILISI — Around 1,500 Russian soldiers and dozens of pieces of artillery and missile systems started a major military exercise across the North Caucasus and the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia, Georgia’s government said.

The Georgian government described the war games, which came around a week after South Ossetian forces extended a de facto border into Georgia, as a major act of provocation by Russia that could destabilise the region.

“This provocative act of the Russian P Federation represents an infringement of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Georgia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said the Georgian military would respond if provoked.

Russia hasn’t commented but the South Ossetian land-grab, that included taking control of a 1.6km section of a pipeline operated by BP which pumps oil from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea, and the alleged military exercises have created the worse stand-off between Georgia and Russia since they fought a war in 2008.

Earlier in July, Russia said that NATO exercises in Georgia, which included a contingent of US soldiers, would have “explosive consequences”.

Georgia said that the Russian 2-week long military exercise began on July 15 across the North Caucasus and South Ossetia.

Georgia is pushing to join NATO, especially since Russia annexed Crimea last year and, allegedly, sent its forces into eastern Ukraine to help rebel forces fight a civil war against the Ukrainian military.

Europe and the United States have been supportive of Georgia’s Western orientation, but also stand-offish on allowing Georgia to join NATO.

Donald Tusk, the European Council President, was in Georgia for a pre-planned visit. He detoured to the area where South Ossetia had extended its control.

He praised the Georgian government for its restraint.

“The Georgian government met it firmly, but calmly, he said. Our goal is not to yield to these provocations and not to give anyone any pretext for escalation,” Mr Tusk said.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Georgia accuses S. Ossetia for grabbing land and pipeline

JULY 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – TBILISI — Georgia accused Russia of grabbing a significant slice of its territory around the breakaway region of South Ossetia, including part of an oil pipeline owned by BP.

Signposts appeared overnight near an important motorway which crosses Georgia declaring the area to be under the control of South Ossetian forces. Armed men also started to patrol the area.

“(The) placing of these banners can be assessed as a provocation and completely unjustified move,” Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili was quoted by Georgian media as saying.

The EU, a consistent supporter of Georgia, agreed with Mr Garibashvili and released a statement on July 16 calling for the South Ossetian banners to be withdrawn.

Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in 2008 over South Ossetia which had declared de facto independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. After the 2008 war, Russia and a handful of other states recognised this independence.

Tension around the border zone, rugged hilly countryside dotted with farms and woods, has ebbed and flowed since then. This apparent land grab is one of the most serious, though.

It also highlights the risk of Georgia being an increasingly important part of the transit route for goods travelling between Asia and Europe.

Mr Garibashvili said that a 1.6km section of BP-operated Baku-Supsa oil pipeline now fell under rebel control.

“The pipeline is of strategic importance not only for us, but also for several other countries,” he said.

The 850km-long pipeline pumps 100,000 barrels of oil a day from fields in the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea where it is then shipped on to consumers in Europe.

Media quoted a BP spokesperson as saying that oil supplies would continue unaffected.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 240, published on July 16 2015)

Azerbaijan rows with with Britain over NK

JULY 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan lodged a complaint to the British foreign ministry after Bako Sahakyan, leader of the Armenian-backed group governing the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, said he was due to flew to London for meetings with independent policy analysts. Azerbaijan fought a war with Armenia in the 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)

Armenia says soldier killed

JUNE 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia said one of its soldiers had been killed in a shootout with Azerbaijan around the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh. Armenia and Azerbaijan sporadically clash around Nagorno-Karabakh where a shaky 1994 ceasefire maintains a fragile peace.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 238, published on July 2 2015)

Russia rankles Georgia

JUNE 19 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s parliament ratified a security deal with the Georgian rebel region of South Ossetia which will see Russian soldiers stationed permanently in the region. Although the deal is symbolic, as Russian soldiers have been posted in S.Ossetia since the end of a 2008 war, it still rankled Georgia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)

Russia angers Georgia

JUNE 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia launched military exercises involving 1,500 soldiers in South Ossetia, angering Georgia. In 2008, Russia and Georgia fought a war over the region. Russia defeated Georgia and S.Ossetia declared independence although this was only recognised by the Kremlin and a handful of other states.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)