commonspace.eu is getting better

commonspace.eu will this year celebrate its 15th anniversary. In this period we provided space for different opinions, including to persons from the countries and areas we are focused on, which have included Georgians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Yemenis, Ukrainians and many others.

We have also, as much as is possible for a news outlet that does not have a team of paid journalists, provided accurate news and information, especially at times of crises, using our wide network of associates, and multiple and reliable on line sources.

We have done so whilst remaining inspired by our vision for a just and peaceful world, of a Europe that works in peace and collaboration with its neighbourhood, and to give a voice to youth, women, minorities and other groups that struggle to be heard.

This week we are launching new features, and strengthening established ones, to make commonspace.eu more effective, and more useful for our eclectic readership.

On Thursday, we launch our new series, THURSDAY INTERVIEW. The interviews will be conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, and the first interview is with Murad Muradov, Vice President of the Topchubashov Centre in Baku. On Friday we will have a selection from our regular newsletters: Caucasus Concise, Arabia Concise and Central Asia Concise. We hope to add a fourth newsletter shortly. On Monday, the Monday Commentary by our Managing Editor, Dr Dennis Sammut, is back. The commentaries reflect the author’s years of experience, but equally his passion for change and a better world. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we feature articles by our regular guest contributors, including Onnik Krikorian, Benyamin Poghosyan and Vasif Huseynov.

We will of course also feature daily news stories from Europe, and the regions around it, the  neighbourhood with which we need to build a common future.

Over the last days we were briefly offline to some readers as we conducted necessary maintenance on our website. We apologise for any inconvenience. We hope that you will continue finding commonspace.eu interesting and useful.

The Editorial Team of commonspace.eu

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
United States and Iran on the verge of agreement to end hostilities

United States and Iran on the verge of agreement to end hostilities

The United States and Iran signaled on Friday that an agreement to end their war was close, with a senior U.S. administration official saying both sides had agreed on a text and that Washington ​expects to sign an initial deal in the coming days. There are reports that the two sides will meet in Geneva in the coming 3-4 days. iAccording to the BBC, the agreement  includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Foreign Minister has said. Seyed Abbas Araghchi told state TV the deal also includes the lifting of a US blockade of Iran, but that talks on Iran's nuclear programme would begin later. US officials have confirmed some of the details of the agreement, saying economic benefits for Iran would depend on Tehran meeting its obligations. The war began with US and Israeli strikes across Iran on 28 February, prompting Iran to attack Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf - as well as effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for the world's oil and liquefied gas. Trump says there is "no such thing as dealing in good faith" when it comes to negotiating with the Iranians Despite having agreed a ceasefire in April, the US and Iran have exchanged intermittent fire, including two rounds of tit-for-tat strikes this week. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had cancelled "scheduled attacks" against Iran, because negotiators had "just made a great settlement" - a deal that was likely be to signed imminently. On Friday, Iranian media published some details from the alleged 14-point deal which Trump said had "nothing to do with the terms that were agreed to" and "bears no relation to the truth".

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)