KARABAKH IN MADRID: GREAT POWERS SEEK CONTINUITY IN THE PEACE PROCESS IN TURBULENT YEAR AHEAD
By Haroutiun Khachatrian (1/9/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
At the December 2007 Madrid summit of the OSCE, the co-chairs of the Minsk group presented a new document on resolving the Mountainous Karabakh conflict. This was the first such initiative by the co-chairs since 1998. It may reflect the wish of the great powers to secure guarantees that the progress reached so far in the negotiation process is not lost, and that the conflicting parties will not abort the negotiation process under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk group following presidential elections to be held in both countries this year.
AFGHAN-PAKISTANI DIFFERENCES REMAIN DESPITE RECENT AMERICAN INITIATIVES
By Richard Weitz (11/14/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
U.S. policy makers have pursued several initiatives to reduce tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan in order to encourage both governments to concentrate their attention on countering the Taliban and al-Qaeda members operating on their territories.
IRAN AND ARMENIA TIGHTEN TIES
By Haroutiun Khachatrian (11/14/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Armenia on October 22-23 marked a new stage in the relationship between the two countries. The former Soviet republic, which has adopted a Western-type market economy principle, and Iran, one of the most closed economies of the world, will make increasing efforts to make their economic ties closer. Moreover, the two countries are likely to initiate some cooperation in the military sphere as well.
BRANDING THE NEW NATIONS OF CENTRAL ASIA AND SOUTH CAUCASUS
By Erica Marat (11/14/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
As the states of Central Asia and the South Caucasus celebrate the sixteenth anniversary of independence this year, they are gradually moving toward appreciating their international images ahead of promoting national ideologies domestically. To date, Armenia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan have made the first conscious steps in promoting their national peculiarities in the international arena by designing recognizable images and slogans. But more extensive strategies are soon to be developed if these states choose to compete on the international market for tourists and investments.
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