Georgia
COMMENT: Middle Corridor makes progress, but playing second fiddle to the Northern Route
The Middle Corridor linking China to Europe through the South Caucasus and Central Asia has expanded significantly in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but its long-term prospects remain uncertain.
“Lost” Ottoman era painting reappears at Sotheby’s London, sold for a million at auction
Osman Hamdi Bey’s 1881 work Kahve Hazirlamak was bought by a Georgian prince around 1910. Its whereabouts became a mystery.
After Samarkand summit, Europe’s quest for Central Asian resources meets reality
Playing long game for rare earths.
Think-tank urges EU to consider 'Big Bang' enlargement and sweeping reforms
European Policy Centre analysts call on the EU to abandon its piecemeal, hesitant approach to enlargement and commit to ‘permachange’: a permanent state of adaptation in response to cascading crises.
COMMENT: Embracing “Greater Central Asia” has become a strategic imperative for US
Wider region increasingly seen as arena in which major powers’ interests, such as in sourcing critical minerals, collide and converge.
Georgian government lashes out at EU after warnings of visa-free regime freeze
The EU has toyed with the idea of suspending visa-free travel privileges for Georgians in light of Georgian Dream's increasing authoritarianism and pivot away from European values.
INTERVIEW: Georgian opposition leader Giorgi Vashadze
Vashadze regards the incumbent Georgian Dream government as a “double-faced” Kremlin agent: ostensibly committed to Western integration, but in reality deliberately sabotaging Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future in favour of closer ties with Russia.
Georgian Dream Parliament Speaker denounces UK grant programme for local election watchdogs
Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Georgian Dream majority Parliament, has condemned a new UK grant programme which offers funding to Georgian NGOs working to safeguard democracy in the Caucasus country.
Measuring impact of US tariffs on Central Asia and South Caucasus
Little near-term pain, but lots of uncertainty about future.
Georgian ruling party moves to ban all opposition
The ruling Georgian Dream party seeks to ban opposition parties based on the impending conclusions of a temporary parliamentary commission the party set up to investigate alleged “crimes” of the previous government.