by Mina Muradova (03/06/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

A recent statement of Georgia’s President after his visit to Baku, alleging that Russia was going to destabilize the situation in Azerbaijan as it did in his country before last year’s elections, has caused concerns in both countries. The statement appears in a situation where Baku reportedly experiences tensions with Moscow, but Tbilisi is seeking to normalize its relations with Russia. 

20130220analyst.pdf

by Eka Janashia (02/20/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

In mid-February, EU officials issued a warning to Tbilisi that the EU’s Association Agreement with Georgia, including visa liberalization and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, might not be signed at the upcoming Eastern Partnership (EaP) Vilnius Summit in November 2013.

GEORGIAN PM IVANISHVILI STRIPS DEFENSE MINISTER ALASANIA OF VICE PM POST

by Eka Janashia (02/06/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Georgia’s Defense Minister and the leader of the Our Georgia-Free Democrats (OGFD) Irakli Alasania, one of the six parties constituting the Georgian Dream (GD) collation, has dismissed speculations over the possibility of the GD’s collapse after his February 2 meeting with Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. The first signs of uncertainty emerged on January 22 when Alasania stated on the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s political talk show Accents that he had “tense” talks with PM over the upcoming October presidential elections. Ivanishvili’s concerns were prompted by the fact that the OGFD’s discussions over the presidential candidacy were not synchronized with the GD, Alasania said, adding that “I agree fully with him that the presidential candidate should be agreed with the coalition and agreed with the coalition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili.”

By Georgiy Voloshin (11/28/2012 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On November 21, the local prosecutor's office of Kazakhstan's Almaty region officially requested the provincial court to order an administrative closure of over forty print and online media outlets, including the Russian-language Respublika web-portal and the popular Vzglyad newspaper. The complaint also included the names of two television channels (K-Plus and Stan.tv) whose frequent reporting on Kazakhstan's domestic politics are widely considered as the most outspoken source of criticism of the country's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his government, especially after the December 2011 bloody events in Zhanaozen.