The Wall Street Journal: “Checking Putin's Eurasian Ambitions”

The crisis in Ukraine is connected to South Caucasus countries with one thing in common – Russia has deep interests in these countries. Georgia, being a corridor linking the East to the West is the subject of interest of Russia and the United States.

In an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, author Svante Cornell says Russia’s wanted take control of Georgia in order to protect the Caspian Sea and Central Asia. While for US, Georgia is important for its own national security. Those issues were highlighted in Cornell’s article, published online on April 6.

Though separated by the Black Sea, the fate of Ukraine and the countries of the South Caucasus is intimately connected: They are both central to Vladimir Putin's dream of a "Eurasian" empire, stretching from Belarus to Tajikistan. Without Slavic Ukraine, there can be no real Eurasian union. Without control over the South Caucasus corridor, Russia can't secure the Caspian Sea and Central Asia.

Read the full article on: www.online.wsj.com