By Tamar Mikadze (6/15/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: According to various estimates the scale of human trafficking in Georgia is on the rise, and the government’s negligence to crack down on criminal networks puts more people at risk of being trafficked. Various sources indicate that hundreds of Georgians are trafficked annually to Turkey, Russia, France and Spain, Greece, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the Netherlands, with smaller numbers trafficked to Israel and Portugal, and even as far as Philippines. Because of the proximity of and cheaper travel Turkey seems a chief destination country.

By Hooman Peimani (6/15/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: Iranian-Russian relations have been growing since 1987 when then the Soviet Union changed its policy of supporting Iraq in its war against Iran. By removing obstacles and creating common political and security grounds, certain factors, apart from economic incentives, have made Tehran and Moscow closer to each other since 1991, including the Soviet Union’s fall, Washington’s efforts to create a unipolar international system and the growing presence of the Western countries, particularly the United States, in the Caucasus and Central Asia. However, their cooperation on energy-related issues has been limited.

By Stephen Blank (6/15/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

BACKGROUND: In the wake of the Andijon massacre and Kyrgyz revolution, we may discern the following new and significant trends in Chinese policy, possibly due to these events. China has abandoned its earlier reticence about former Russian Prime Minister Evgeny Primakov’s strategic triangle with Russia and India and agreed to a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the three states in Vladivostok on June 2. At this meeting the war on terror, access to Central Asian energy (including Iran), and the issue of uprisings in Central Asia were discussed among the participants although we do not know what practical conclusions, if any, they reached.