JUNE 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — Ukraine’s defence minister Stepan Poltorak visited Tbilisi for talks with his Georgian counterpart Levan Izoria. Georgia and Ukraine have been developing bilateral military ties. Ukraine is fighting a Russia-backed insurgency in the east; Georgia considers Russia to be its main threat.
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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)
JUNE 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — Soldiers from Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan started their annual military exercises, dubbed Caucasian Eagle 2017, highlighting improved ties between the three countries. This is the third military exercise between the triumvirate. Turkey has hosted the other two military exercises.
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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)
MAY 23 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — At a meeting in Tbilisi, the defence ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey agreed to hold joint military exercises next month. The neighbours have been holding twice-yearly meetings of their defence ministers since 2014, with the aim of improving military relations.
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(News report from Issue No. 330, published on May 28 2017)
JAN. 19 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev said that he wants to buy weapons from Russia. Azerbaijan has become a major weapons buyer over the last few years. It is still officially at war with Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh.
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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)
NOV. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia and Uzbekistan have signed a deal that will improve their military cooperation, media reported quoting the Russian defence ministry. It said that one of the main aims of the agreement was to update Uzbekistan’s military with modern Russian-made equipment. The deal highlights both the more open nature of Uzbekistan since Islam Karimov, president since 1991, died in September and the influence that Russia has over the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 307, published on Dec. 2 2016)
NOV. 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia has bought a number of Iskander-M missiles from Russia, Armenia president Serzh Sargsyan told Russian media. The Iskander-M missile is one of Russia’s most advanced missile systems. Mr Sargsyan said that Armenia had been obligated to by the missile system to balance against the threat posed by Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan are still officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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(News report from Issue No. 306, published on Nov. 25 2016)f
NOV. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Russian government sent an official protest note to Georgia over Georgian-NATO military exercises which it described as a serious threat to peace and stability in the region. NATO keeps a permanent training base in Georgia. Both NATO and Georgia shrugged off the Russian complaint and said they were not aimed at Russia. Georgia wants to join NATO.
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(News report from Issue No. 305, published on Nov. 18 2016)
NOV. 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s new defence minister, Levan Izoria, has said that he may reverse a decision by his predecessor to scrap military conscription next year, media reported. Georgia announced in June that it was going to scrap conscription, part of a drive to professionalise its military. It wants to join NATO and has sent its forces to Afghanistan and Iraq. By regional standards, Georgia’s army already looks and feels like a Western army. Only non- combat roles are filled with conscripts. Media reported that Mr Izoria had said that conscription was useful in helping ethnic minorities integrate.
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(News report from Issue No. 304, published on Nov. 11 2016)
OCT. 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s parliament approved a missile defence deal with Russia that will mean it relies increasingly heavily on the Kremlin for its defences, media reported. Russia already maintains a large military base in Armenia, seen as essential for keeping its various enemies (mainly Azerbaijan and Turkey) at arms length. Importantly, officials also said that the missile defence deal with Russia did not cover the region of Nagorno-Karabakh which Armenia disputes with Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 301, published on Oct. 21 2016)
OCT. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan and China start joint military exercises on the Tajik-Afghan border. The exercises come a month after China announced that it was going to build a network of border posts along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border. It is increasingly worried about security along the southern fringe of Central Asia. In August a suicide bomber attacked the Chinese embassy in Bishkek.
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(News report from Issue No. 301, published on Oct. 21 2016)