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Abkhazia

Abkhazia is a region of the Caucasus on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of Russia. Its status is disputed and led to armed conflict.

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Pro & Contra

Georgia Vies for NATO Membership as Russia Opposes

August 21, 2008
Russian troops ride atop armored vehicles and trucks near the village of Khurcha in Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia

New Developments

Russia edged towards recognizing the independence of Georgia's rebel regions as tensions rise.
August 20, 2008
Russian soldiers sit atop of their armored personnel carrier, heading from the city of Senaki towards the Abkhazian border in western Georgia

Stoking the Fire

Russia says it is ready to recognize rebel region Abkhazia's bid for independence from Georgia.
August 20, 2008
Russian troops in tanks near the Georgian town of Gori

Germany Presses Russia on Swift Withdrawal From Georgia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russia to avoid any delays to its troop withdrawal from Georgia and stick to a deadline.
August 20, 2008

Echoes of the Cold War

NATO and Russia faced off over the on-going tensions surrounding the Caucasus war.
August 20, 2008
The NATO symbol at the gate of the NATO headquarters in Brussels

NATO in Crisis

Will the conflict with Russia lead to drastic NATO steps at an emergency summit on Tuesday?
August 19, 2008
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, talks during a joint press conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Merkel in Russia

Chancellor Merkel clashed with an unapologetic President Medvedev during talks over Georgia.
August 15, 2008
An Ossetian soldier uses a mobile phone as he walks near a destroyed tank in Tskhinvali, capital of Georgian breakaway enclave of South Ossetia

Russia Backs Rebel Regions

President Medvedev said Russia backs Georgia's rebel regions in talks on their future status.
August 14, 2008
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili address the press

Georgia, Russia Agree to Modified Peace Plan

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday from Tbilisi that his Georgian counterpart Mikheil Saakashvili had agreed to a French-brokered plan to restore peace with Russia over the breakaway South Ossetian province.
August 13, 2008
Russian army vehicles in a long line on a road in Georgia

Redrawing the Map

The south Caucasus region could soon look very different to the one before the war began.
August 12, 2008
Opinion

EU Needs Caution

DW's Miodrag Soric explains why Europe must proceed cautiously to calm Georgian conflict.
August 12, 2008
Georgian people leave the conflict zone of South Ossetia, Georgia 10 August 2008.

What the Future Holds

Author and political scientist Stefan Wolff talked to DW-WORLD about the Russia-Georgia conflict.
August 12, 2008
Vike-Freiberga during the NATO summit in Riga in 2006

Analysis: East Europeans Eye Russian Assault Warily

Russia's show of military force against Georgia has raised hackles in Eastern Europe and prompted calls for a strong European Union stand.
August 12, 2008
Eduard Kokoity, wearing military gear

Experts: South Ossetia, Abkhazia Have No Right to Secede

Georgia and Russia have both invoked international law to justify their actions in the current conflict. But German legal experts say that only one side seems to have a justifiable point in doing so.
August 12, 2008
Russian tanks in South Ossetia

Expert: Russia's Pinpricks Caused Georgia's Military Intervention

Russia expert Joerg Himmelreich told DW-RADIO that Russia's escalating provocations led Georgia to enter a military conflict it cannot win.
August 11, 2008
Georgian soldiers sit atop a tank as it moves along a street in Gori, Georgia

A Foreseeable War

A former UN and OSCE mediator in Georgia told DW-WORLD he isn't surprised by the Caucasus war.
August 11, 2008
People lining up outside a Red Cross refugee camp

UN Mounts Emergency Relief Aid in Caucasus

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said Monday it had launched an emergency airlift to stockpile humanitarian supplies for civilians caught in the South Ossetia fighting, which has spread to other parts of Georgia
August 11, 2008
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, center, and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, right, discuss the hostilities in South Ossetia during their meeting in Tbilisi, late Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.

Mediation Efforts

Experts say the EU's attempts at mediation in the Caucasus crisis is its only current option.
August 11, 2008
Two Russian solders with their faces covered sit on a tank

Russia Sets Up Black Sea Blockade as Caucasus War Widens

Russia on Sunday intensified airstrikes and a naval blockade against Georgia, as international diplomats sought ways to bring a ceasefire to the Caucasus province South Ossetia.
August 10, 2008
A Russian navy dinghy in front of a navy vessel in the Black Sea

Georgians to Leave South Ossetia as Focus Shifts to Black Sea

Georgian officials said Sunday that they are withdrawing their forces from South Ossetia. Russan navy vessels meanwhile arrive at Georgia's Black Sea coast in what could become the next hotspot of the war.
August 10, 2008
A column of Russian tanks rolls into South Ossetia on Aug. 8, 2008.

South Ossetia Chronology

A chronology of the dispute which has not ceased to cause tension since the time of the USSR.
August 9, 2008
Georgian and Russian flags

Verge of War?

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili accused Russia of "fighting a war" with his country.
August 8, 2008
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (L), with his Georgian counterpart Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili (R), hold a news conference in Tbilisi

Constructive Effort

Russia calls the Georgia peace plan constructive but opposition in Abkhazia remains.
July 18, 2008
A Georgian military convoy

Abkhaz Separatists Reject German Peace Plan

Rebels in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia have rejected German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier's peace deal. It is also not known whether Russia will support the plan.
July 18, 2008
Anti-Russsian protest in Georgia

Plan for Peace

German Foreign Minister Steinmeier delivers his plan for peace in Georgia's separatist regions.
July 17, 2008
Georgian soldiers wave while riding in a truck in the high-mountain Kodori Gorge

Stepping In

Germany will mediate in Abkhazia in a bid to prevent war between Russia and Georgia.
July 17, 2008
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Medvedev Gets Tough

Russian President Medvedev heaps more criticism on the West in a major foreign policy speech.
July 15, 2008
Russian jets fly across a Russian church tower

Russia Admits Georgian Fly-Over as Rice Visits Region

Russian officials have admitted that they ordered the air force to fly over Georgia's rebel region of South Ossetia in a maneuver aimed "to cool hot heads in Tbilisi." The US' top diplomat didn't like to hear it.
July 11, 2008
Masked Russian Interior ministry troops soldiers look on while patrolling atop a tank

Caucusus Squabble

Condoleezza Rice arrived in Tbilisi as the US and Russia traded accusations over unrest in Georgia.
July 10, 2008
Russian peacekeepers man a gun during training in Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia

Germany Proposes Plan for Ending Violence in Abkhazia

With recent bombings killing four people in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia, Germany has proposed a plan for ending the ongoing conflict in the region.
July 8, 2008
Georgian soldiers wave while riding in a truck in Abkhazia

Alleged Abkhazia Deal

A Russian newspaper claims Georgia has offered Russia a deal over the separatist Abhkazia region.
June 27, 2008
Russian peacekeepers man a gun during training in Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia

Merkel Supports Georgia

Chancellor Merkel offered Germany's support to Georgia after talks with President Saakashvili.
June 25, 2008
A women sits above Kodori Gorge in the Abkhazia region of Georgia

Abkhazia Row

Russia warned Georgia against joining NATO, saying it could solve the conflict without the West.
June 6, 2008
Ethnic Ossetians and Georgians shout anti-Russian slogans and hold Georgian flags at the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi

Territorial Integrity

The EU reiterated its support for Georgia in an ongoing dispute with Russia over separatism.
May 12, 2008

Hard Bargaining

The EU presidency ties its involvement in a mission to Georgia to Lithuania's EU-Russia veto.
May 10, 2008
A Russian helicopter is seen landing in the town of Ochamchire in Georgia's separatist region of Abkhazia.

The Language of War

Georgia's president says his country is close to war with Russia over the Abkhazia crisis.
May 8, 2008
Georgian soldiers wave while riding in a truck in the high-mountain Kodori Gorge,

Abkhazia Welcomes Troops

Officials in Abkhazia see extra Russian troops as a guarantee of independence from Georgia.
May 2, 2008
Russian troops on an armored vehicle

Russia Deploys Troops

Despite Western objections, Moscow began sending troops to Georgia's separatist zone of Abkahzia.
May 1, 2008
Georgian troops near Abkhazia

Troop Buildup

Russia came under fire from the EU for deploying more soldiers to break-away Georgian territories.
April 30, 2008
Kremlin

Sovereignty Issues

Germany and other Western powers, urged Russia not to establish ties with two regions of Georgia.
April 24, 2008
A figure stands under a giant Georgian flag

Testing Times

Russian President Putin has moved toward normalizing his country's strained relations with Georgia.
April 18, 2008
Waving the flags of Russia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, local residents ride a car as they celebrate the independence referendum in South Ossetia, Nov. 12, 2006

Stirring Up Separatism?

The EU and NATO are alarmed by a Russian move to boost ties to two breakaway Georgian regions.
April 16, 2008
Georgian soldiers wave while riding in a truck

Georgia's Kosovo?

Breakaway republics in Georgia want independence. The situation threatens to destabilize the region.
March 19, 2008
Waving the flags, from left, of Russia and the two Georgian breakaway provinces, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, local residents ride a car

Kosovo's Legacy?

Russia and Europe could be headed for a showdown over breakaway regions in Georgia.
March 10, 2008
Serbian supporters fly flags in a protest against Kosovo's independence

Oppostion Pressure

Serbia and Russia step up the efforts to have Kosovo's independence anulled.
February 18, 2008