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, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, "Promise and Peril in the Caucasus," AFPC Insights, March 30, 2023.
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Putin's War In Ukraine and the Crimean War), 19fourtyfive, January 2, 2023
Oped S. Frederick Starr, Russia Needs Its Own Charles de Gaulle, Foreign Policy, July 21, 2022.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Rethinking Greater Central Asia: American and Western Stakes in the Region and How to Advance Them, June 2022
Oped Svante E. Cornell & Albert Barro, With referendum, Kazakh President pushes for reforms, Euractiv, June 3, 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell Russia's Southern Neighbors Take a Stand, The Hill, May 6, 2022.
Silk Road Paper Johan Engvall, Between Bandits and Bureaucrats: 30 Years of Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan, January 2022.
Oped Svante E. Cornell, No, The War in Ukraine is not about NATO, The Hill, March 9, 2022.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Kazakhstan’s Crisis Calls for a Central Asia Policy Reboot, The National Interest, January 34, 2022.
Book S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell, Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, December 2021.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr & Albert Barro, Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President Tokayev, November 2021.