Professor Smith Delivers Paper at Conference in Tehran, Iran

Dr. David R. Smith, pictured at the far right, associate professor of geography at ONU, was part of the 16th International Conference on Central Asia and the Caucasus, held Oct. 28 and 29 in Teheran, Iran. Also pictured are, from left, Dennis Sammut, United Kingdom, executive director of Links, a non-government organization and publication on the Caucasus; Johana Papjanevski, Sweden, deputy director of the Institute for Development and Security Policy; Manuchehr Moradi, panel chair, director of the Center for Central Asia and the Caucusus, Institute for Political and International Studies, Foreign Ministry, Iran; George Sanikidze, Republic of Georgia, director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Georgian Academy of Sciences; and Michele Brunelli, Italy, researcher on international law and international relations. Smith’s paper, “The Russian Federation and the Republic of Georgia: a Geographic Perspective on the Conflict,” was part of the session on a regional cooperation approach and prospect for an enduring peace and stability in the Caucasus. In addition, Smith said, “I met and had tea with the first deputy foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the conference. I talked with him and discussed how ONU and IPIS could increase ties with one another.” The convention was subtitled “Confrontation in the Caucasus: Roots, Dimensions, Applications.” This was Smith’s third appearance as a guest speaker at the Institute for Political and International Studies annual conference.