News Digest
GEORGIAN PRESIDENT ISSUES ULTIMATUM
By empty (3/14/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Following his 14 March telephone conversation with Abashidze, President Saakashvili told journalists in Poti that he has issued an ultimatum to Abashidze to comply with his demands within 24 hours. Saakashvili demanded that Abashidze guarantee him and members of the Georgian government freedom to enter and travel around Adjaria; observe freedom of expression and campaigning in the run-up to the 28 March parliamentary elections and ensure that ballot is democratic; disarm illegal armed groups; and cede to Tbilisi control over customs, borders, communications, finances and the port of Batumi. If Abashidze fails to comply, Saakashvili said he will close Adjaria\'s internal borders with the rest of Georgia and the external border with Turkey; close the Batumi airport and port and ban cargo transit through Adjaria; and freeze the bank accounts of legal entities registered by the Adjar authorities.ARMY ALERT OVER GEORGIA DISPUTE
By empty (3/14/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Georgia has reportedly put its armed forces on alert after President Mikhail Saakashvili was barred from entering the troubled region of Ajaria. Georgian TV showed footage of troops loyal to Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze blocking Mr Saakashvili\'s convoy at a checkpoint on a road into the region. Meanwhile Russia warned Georgia not to send its troops into the region.CHECHEN FIELD COMMANDER THREATENS NEW ATTACKS ON RUSSIA
By empty (3/13/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In video footage broadcast on 13 March by Al-Jazeera television, Arab-born Chechen field commander Abu Al-Walid vowed to launch new attacks against Russian civilians if the Russian president elected on 14 March \"declares war on the Chechens.\" Four months ago, Al-Jazeera broadcast a similar threat by Al-Walid, whom Russian presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembskii described on 13 March as one of the four most influential Chechen field commanders still alive and fighting. (Reuters).GEORGIAN PRESIDENT VISITS ARMENIA
By empty (3/12/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Visiting Yerevan on 12 March, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili met with his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian and with Prime Minister Andranik Markarian to discuss bilateral cooperation, the problems facing Georgia\'s Armenian minority, regional conflicts and transportation. In a joint communique, the two presidents reiterated their shared desire to expand bilateral relations and to integrate into European structures, and noted the need for closer cooperation to combat international terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking. Saakashvili, however, apparently stopped short of making the one concession for which Yerevan was hoping.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.