Russia's reluctant retreat from the caucasus:Abkhazia, Georgia and the US after 11 September 2001

This contribution considers how Russian interests in the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict have changed and particularly how, with American responses to 11 September, Russian influence in Georgia has been further reduced. It first provides a brief summation of the strategic significance of this conflict to each of the key parties: the Georgians, the Abkhaz and the Russians. It then considers how US military involvement in Georgia after 11 September potentially alters the dynamic between the Abkhaz and the Georgians, and how that relationship affects Russian interests. It concludes that, very reluctantly but with spurts of defiant military action, Russian influence in Georgia is waning.