Tag Archives: Georgia

Tuvalu recognises Georgian breakaway region

MARCH 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – For a Pacific island nation with no connection to the former Soviet Union, Tuvalu has been taking an extraordinarily keen interest in the South Caucasus.

After an international aid donation from Russia, Tuvalu last year became the fifth country to recognise the independence of the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Russia has been drumming up support for Abkhazia and South Ossetia since the end of a war with Georgia in 2008 and the Pacific islands have been easily pushed in this direction.

Harder to comprehend is why Tuvalu, with a population of 10,500 people, and Armenia have now formally initiated diplomatic relations.

Perhaps the link is, again, Russia. Russia is an important ally of Armenia in the South Caucasus. It supplies Armenia with gas and pays rent on a large military base on Armenian soil.

Officially, no reason has been given for the new Armenia-Tuvalu diplomatic axis, although the Azerbaijani press is full of speculation the Pacific island nation is about to recognise the independence of Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh (which Azerbaijan still disputes).

More likely, though, is that Armenia hoped to win favour with Russia by bolstering the credibility of Tuvalu’s South Caucasus diplomatic strategy. Unlike Abkhazia and South Ossetia, at least Armenia is an internationally recognised nation state.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 081, published on March 30 2012)

Georgia records deflations

MARCH 2 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia recorded deflation last month for the first time since Aug. 2009. Year-on- year, average prices fell 2.1% in February, mainly due to a 3.5% drop in the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks. In May 2011, year-on- year inflation had hit 14.3%, highlighting the region’s economic volatility.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 080, published on March 8 2012)

Bank of Georgia lists on London’s stock exchange

FEB. 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Bank of Georgia, which holds a third of all retail deposits in Georgia, listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The Bank of Georgia is only the second international bank to list on LSE. It hopes to secure a place in the FTSE 250 soon.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 079, published on March 1 2012)

Georgia’s President wants to drop visa for Russians

FEB. 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a rare show of goodwill towards Russia, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said during his state-of-the-nation address that he wants to drop visa requirements for all Russians. In October 2010, Georgia started to allow 90-day visa-free entry to Russians living in the North Caucasus.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 079, published on March 1 2012)

Georgian president visits Afghanistan

FEB. 20 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili flew to Afghanistan and, dressed in a military uniform, addressed Georgia’s 900 soldiers attached to NATO forces fighting the Taliban. Two days later Georgia’s defence ministry said a bomb had killed three soldiers. Fifteen Georgian soldiers have now died in the war.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 78, published on Feb. 23 2012)

Opposition leader in Georgia’s rebel South Ossetia beaten

FEB. 10 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The main opposition leader in South Ossetia, Alla Dzhioyeva, was hospitalised after security forces raided her office. Officials said Ms Dzhioyeva had a stroke but she said the security forces beat her. The authorities wanted to question her over a break-in at a government building in 2011. South Ossetia is a rebel region in Georgia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 77, published on Feb. 16 2012)

South Caucasus-Iran relations worsen

FEB. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Attacks against Israeli targets in Georgia, India and Thailand and an acrimonious row between Baku and Tehran have thrown a spotlight over the relationship between the South Caucasus and Iran.

The same day that Georgian security forces disarmed a car bomb in Tbilisi another exploded in Delhi, injuring an Israeli woman (Feb. 13). Israel has blamed Iran for both attacks and another in Bangkok the following day.

Three weeks earlier the authorities in Baku arrested two Iranians for conspiring to assassinate Israeli diplomats, although Iran denied the charges.

The South Caucasus has a complex, fluid relationship with Iran.

Over the past year, much to the irritation of the US, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia have strengthened ties with Iran. Gas deals have been made, railway and air links solidified, visa regulations waived and military delegations hosted. Private business and trade links have also surged.

But behind these strengthening connections relations often remain strained.

Azerbaijan has built up good links with Israel and Georgia’s main backer is the US. Both are Iran’s sworn enemy. Armenia has more cordial ties with Iran but it also needs to be flexible.

The South Caucasus countries have to deal with their powerful neighbour but they are also wary.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 77, published on Feb. 16 2012)

Georgia pledges to end corruption

FEB. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The World Bank praised Georgia for defeating corruption and said it is an example to other countries in the region. It said that anti-corruption reforms initiated by President Mikheil Saaskashvili have spiked the myth that corruption is cultural and can’t be beaten.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 76, published on Feb. 9 2012)

The limits of press freedom in Central Asia and the South Caucasus

Georgia’s president visits Obama