Rusian Defense Minister Ivanov pictured reviewing ships of Russia's Pacific Fleet in 2005 (ITAR-TASS) May 31, 2006 -- Defense ministers and top defense officials from member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) met today in Baku to discuss cooperation.
A Russian peacekeeper manns a checkpoint in South Ossetia (file photo) (AFP) May 31, 2006 -- Georgia today said the arrival of a new contingent of 500 Russian peacekeepers arrived in the separatist republic of South Ossetia is illegal.
Georgian President Saakashvili speaks at a commemoration of a battle in 1922 between Georgians and the Soviet army (file photo) (InterPressNews) May 26, 2006 - Georgia today marks the 15th anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union.
An Armenian soldier in military exercises run under NATO's Partnership for Peace program searches for signs of illegal border crossings (file photo) (ITAR-TASS) Georgians should entertain no hopes that NATO enlargement will be on the agenda of the next meeting of the West's largest security alliance, says Robert Simmons, NATO deputy assistant secretary general for security cooperation and partnership and NATO's special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia. What is most important for Georgia is to act on its promises and commitments, he told RFE/RL's Georgian Service on May 25.
A court has sentenced the only known survivor among the Beslan hostage takers to life in prison. Prosecutors and the judge agreed the death penalty was warranted, but Russia's moratorium on capital punishment prevented it.
Matthew Bryza, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, tells RFE/RL why he is hopeful about current peace talks between Georgia and the breakaway region of Abkhazia.
May 26, 2006 -- A court in southern Russia today ruled the sole surviving hostage taker involved in the Beslan school siege guilty of murder and terrorism.
Supporters of the Justice Party at a demonstration in March 2006 (file photo) (InterPressNews) May 25, 2006 -- Some 2,000 people today called for the resignation of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili at a rally in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
Russia appears to support the May 21 Montenegrin independence referendum as a potential model for resolving some separatist conflicts in its own neighborhood -- namely, the regions that enjoy Moscow's support in their pursuit of independence from Moldova and Georgia. But its own separatist conflicts are a different matter -- particularly in Chechnya, where no Montenegro-style referendum is likely. RFE/RL Moscow correspondent Claire Bigg asked Yevgeny Volk, the director of the Heritage Foundation think tank in Moscow, whether Russia has a double standard on the issue of separatist conflicts.