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Opinion: the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process would be better off without mediators
10 May 2023
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- Briefing: intensive diplomatic efforts around the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process
- EU interior ministers reach "historic" agreement on migration, but significant opposition remains
- Opinion: we may still be far from an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty
- First Astana International Forum taking place in Kazakhstan on 8-9 June
- 600 square kilometres of southern Ukraine flooded after dam collapse
- Opinion: the future will show whether May 2023 was a breakthrough or another missed chance
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Opinion: religious diplomacy should be factored into the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process
patrickn97
Thu, 05/11/2023 - 08:07
"Religion has taken a place in the narratives that depict two warring sides locked into perpetual battle, and the international media nearly always frames the conflict as one between “Christian Armenia” and “Muslim Azerbaijan”, implanting that image in the minds of readers," writes Onnik James Krikorian in this op-ed for commonspace.eu.
Russia lifts ban on flights to Georgia, removes visa restrictions for Georgian citizens
On Wednesday (10 May), Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two separate decrees lifting a ban on flights to Georgia, and abolishing visas for Georgian citizens.
From 15 March, Georgian nationals will be allowed to enter Russia without visas for up to 90 days. Lifting the ban on flights reverses a 2019 decision in which the Kremlin banned air traffic with Georgia following a wave of anti-Kremlin protests there.
After President Putin signed the decrees, the Russian Foreign Ministry also released a statement reversing its 2019 advice against Russian citizens travelling to Georgia.
The statement added that Putin's decrees "are in line with our principled approach of consistently facilitating the conditions for communication and contacts between the citizens of Russia and Georgia, despite the absence of diplomatic relations".
Later, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti reported that the Georgian Deputy Minister of the Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili said that Georgia would issue permits for direct flights to non-sanctioned airlines, before adding that authorities were yet to receive any such requests from Russian airlines.
patrickn97
Wed, 05/10/2023 - 16:13
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan agree to increase cultural cooperation
patrickn97
Wed, 05/10/2023 - 10:00
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have agreed to increase cultural cooperation, reports The Astana Times on Tuesday (9 May).
Kazakh Minister of Culture and Sports Askhat Oralov announced last week that his country intends to strengthen cultural ties with Azerbaijan and other Turkic countries through the Organization of Turkic States and the International Organization of Turkic Culture.
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Russian brigade flees Bakhmut, UK prepares to supply Ukraine longer-range missiles
10 May 2023
An entire Russian brigade has reportedly fled the embattled town of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine. This news was initially announced by the Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, and confirmed by Ukraine's Third Assault Brigade on Tuesday (9 May).
Russian forces have been trying to take the town for some 10 months, but have reportedly taken huge losses in the face of strong Ukrainian resistance. Bakhmut, which had a pre-war population of around 70,000, has been almost completely destroyed by the fighting.
"Prigozhin's report about the escape of the 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces from Bakhmut and the '500 corpses' of Russians who remained there is true. The Third Assault Brigade is grateful for the publicity of our success at the front," the Third Assault Brigade wrote in a statement.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Third Assault Brigade, Andriy Biletskiy, claimed that they had liberated a 3km x 2.6km strip of land south-west of Bakhmut in the process.
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Pashinyan and Aliyev to meet in Brussels on 14 May and in Chisinau on 1 June
9 May 2023
The European Union has officially confirmed that the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will meet in Brussels on Sunday (14 May).
The official announcement comes after a claim made in the Financial Times yesterday (8 May) about the two leaders meeting in the Belgian capital this weekend.
In a statement, the EU said "President Michel has continued to be in close contact with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to advance the EU’s efforts to promote stability in the South Caucasus and normalisation between the two countries," before announcing the trilateral meeting in Brussels this weekend.
The statement adds that this meeting in Brussels will be "flanked" by a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the upcoming European Political Community summit in Chisinau, Moldova, on 1 June 2023.
In addition to this, the EU also said that Pashinyan and Aliyev have "agreed to continue to meet trilaterally in Brussels as frequently as necessary to address ongoing developments on the ground and standing agenda items of the Brussels meetings".
