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  "authors": [
    "Thomas de Waal",
    "Fiona Hill",
    "Wayne Merry"
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  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
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  "programs": [
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  "regions": [
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Commentary
Carnegie Europe

Conflicts in the Caucasus: Prospects for Resolution

Twenty years after the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the unresolved conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia remain one of its most problematic legacies.

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By Thomas de Waal, Fiona Hill, Wayne Merry
Published on Dec 7, 2011
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Russia and Eurasia

The Russia and Eurasia Program continues Carnegie’s long tradition of independent research on major political, societal, and security trends in and U.S. policy toward a region that has been upended by Russia’s war against Ukraine.  Leaders regularly turn to our work for clear-eyed, relevant analyses on the region to inform their policy decisions.

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Twenty years after the disappearance of the Soviet Union, the unresolved conflicts in the Caucasus remain one of its most problematic legacies. Despite the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) long mediation in the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, the results have been disappointing. After the 2008 Russia-Georgia war and Moscow’s subsequent recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the prospects for settling those conflicts seem more remote than ever.

Hosted by the Helsinki Commission, this briefing examined where these conflicts stand today; what factors impede a settlement; whether the resumption of armed hostilities is a serious threat; whether changes in the negotiating format might yield a better outcome; and what, if anything, could the United States do to facilitate a resolution.

Authors

Thomas de Waal
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe
Thomas de Waal
Fiona Hill

Fiona Hill is a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe within the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. She is the Chancellor of Durham University in the United Kingdom and is a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers.

Fiona Hill
Wayne Merry
Foreign PolicyCaucasusRussiaAzerbaijanArmeniaGeorgia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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