On 28 March, the European Union’s decision to abolish short-term visas for Georgian citizens came into force.

The United National Movement, Georgia’s largest opposition party which governed the country during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili underwent a split on 12 January.

Mainly representatives of the Georgian Dream and the opposition United National Movement competed in the parliamentary runoff in Georgia.

The first round of parliamentary elections took place in Georgia on 8 October. A mixed, proportional-and-majority election system applies in Georgia.

On 8 October parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia. A new element in the Georgian context is the appearance of slogans favouring rapprochement with Russia.

Whatever the solution to the crisis over the occupied police station, internal chaos in Armenia is likely to deteriorate in the coming weeks.

The Four-Day War in Nagorno-Karabakh had a significant impact on the situation in Armenia. The country was shocked out of the political malaise.

The visa issue has had a great impact on the attitude of the public and the elites in Georgia towards the EU and the West.

The main political beneficiary of the four-day conflict is Russia, which has strengthened its position as the de facto principal conciliator.

The situation in the Northern Caucasus bears greater resemblance to the Middle East than to Russia.