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Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus and call for the momentum to be used for the long-term peace and prosperity of the region
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Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus and call for the momentum to be used for the long-term peace and prosperity of the region

2 March 2026
On 27 February 2026, the members of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform met in Antwerp, Belgium, to assess developments in the South Caucasus following the initialling of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 8 August 2025 at the White House. The members described the present moment as one of major importance for the region and its neighbours, urging leaders and societies alike to use the current momentum to secure long-term peace and prosperity. Established in 2024 with the support of LINKS Europe, the Platform provides a space for direct dialogue and joint analysis between Armenian and Azerbaijani experts. The members also reaffirmed the importance of continued international engagement and expressed strong support for LINKS Europe’s ongoing peacebuilding work in the region. (Click on the image above for the full statement.)
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Thursday Interview: Dr. Anar Valiyev
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Thursday Interview: Dr. Anar Valiyev

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Dr. Anar Valiyev is an Associate Professor of Urban and Public Affairs at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan, with more than 18 years of experience in higher education. His research focuses on public policy, urban development, governance, and post-Soviet regional affairs. He holds a PhD in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of Louisville and has published widely on urbanisation, policy reform, and regional connectivity in the South Caucasus and beyond. This week, commonspace.eu spoke with Dr. Valiyev in Brussels ahead of a roundtable jointly organised by LINKS Europe Foundation and the European Policy Centre. He is taking part in a panel discussion focusing on the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process, its implications for both countries and the wider region, the involvement of the European Union and the United States, and the challenges that lie ahead. In this interview, he reflects on how his research has evolved over nearly two decades in academia, examines the transformative potential of regional connectivity and trade, discusses the strategic role of energy in Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, and highlights the importance of people-to-people ties through education as a form of long-term soft power. (Read the full interview by clicking on the image above)
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Dr. Anar Valiyev
French parliamentarian:

French parliamentarian:

23 August 2011

NKR National Assembly Speaker Ashot Ghulyan received four members of France's parliament who visited Nagorno-Karabakh on Monday. The speaker welcomed the guests and highlighted the importance of France's mediation in resolution of the Karabakh conflict. The delegation led by Guy Teissier, chairman of the French National Assembly's committee on national defense, comprises also Jacques Remiller, Georges Colombier, and Valerie Boyer, ArmInfo's correspondent to Stepanakert reported.

Ashot Ghulyan stressed that over the last years the French parliamentarians have paid several visits to NKR which promotes cooperation with the Karabakh parliamentarians.

For his part, Teissier said: "Coming to Armenia is a gesture of friendship. Coming to Karabakh is a gesture of solidarity." The senior lawmaker, who is affiliated with France's ruling Union for the Popular Movement (UMP) party, said that Karabakh had been incorporated into Soviet Azerbaijan "at the whim of a dictator" and that its predominantly Armenian population should be able to determine its status.

"Why would we keep silent and not say that people very deeply rooted in this land have the right to live here?" added Teissier.

Jacques Remiller, another UMP deputy and the mayor of the French city of Vienne, also voiced "great sympathy" for the Karabakh Armenian cause. The parliamentarians declared that visiting Karabakh they learn the core of the conflict.

"France wants peaceful resolution of the conflict," Teissier said. Ashot Ghulyan thanked the French parliamentarians for open talk and came out for further cooperation.

The French lawmakers are scheduled to tour on Tuesday several Karabakh villages and meet with leaders of local non-governmental organizations uniting Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan.

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Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus and call for the momentum to be used for the long-term peace and prosperity of the region
Trending

Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus and call for the momentum to be used for the long-term peace and prosperity of the region

2 March 2026
On 27 February 2026, the members of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform met in Antwerp, Belgium, to assess developments in the South Caucasus following the initialling of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 8 August 2025 at the White House. The members described the present moment as one of major importance for the region and its neighbours, urging leaders and societies alike to use the current momentum to secure long-term peace and prosperity. Established in 2024 with the support of LINKS Europe, the Platform provides a space for direct dialogue and joint analysis between Armenian and Azerbaijani experts. The members also reaffirmed the importance of continued international engagement and expressed strong support for LINKS Europe’s ongoing peacebuilding work in the region. (Click on the image above for the full statement.)

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