Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
News

Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus

2 March 2026

The members of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform met in Antwerp, Belgium, on 27 February 2026. They discussed 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 of the Platform declared that this is a moment of great importance for the South Caucasus and its neighbours. They emphasised that both the leaders and the people of the region must make good use of the present momentum for the long-term peace and prosperity of not only Armenia and Azerbaijan, but the entire region and its neighbours.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform was established in 2024, with the support of LINKS Europe, to provide a continuous space where Armenian and Azerbaijani experts can hold direct discussions and conduct joint analysis, in complement to wider processes involving governments, experts, and civil society.

The current members of the Platform are, from Armenia: Dr. Stepan Grigorian, Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan, and Mr. Johnny Melikyan; and from Azerbaijan: Dr. Anar Veliyev, Mr. Mehman Aliyev, and Mr. Ramazan Samadov.

On Thursday, 26 February 2026, members of the Platform participated in and spoke at a meeting titled: The Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process: next steps?, jointly organised by LINKS Europe and the European Policy Centre (EPC) in Brussels. Diplomats, regional experts, and civil society representatives attended the meeting, which was also addressed by Peter Svedberg from the Office of the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus.

During the meeting in Antwerp, the members of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform also discussed the work that the LINKS network has carried out over the past three decades in support of peace in the region and Armenia-Azerbaijan reconciliation. The members highly valued the work done by the LINKS network over the years, including within the framework of the EPNK and EU4Peace programmes of the European Union since 2010. They emphasised that this work must continue, even if in a refined and adapted manner, and called on all stakeholders to support LINKS Europe’s work and plans for 2026–2027.

This statement was agreed upon by the members of the Strategic Platform: Dr. Stepan Grigorian, Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan, Mr. Johnny Melikyan, Dr. Anar Veliyev, Mr. Mehman Aliyev, and Mr. Ramazan Samadov.

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Women emerge favourite to lead United Nations from next year, after straw-poll of UN Security Council members
Trending

Women emerge favourite to lead United Nations from next year, after straw-poll of UN Security Council members

1 August 2026
​ Two women have emerged as favourite to lead the United Nations as Secretary-General from 1 January 2027, when the term of the present incumbent, Antonio Gutteres, expires. A straw poll of the members of the UN Security Council, held on Thursday, 30 July showed that of the seven candidates, Rebecca Grynspan of Costa Rica and Carolyn Rodriguez-Birkett of Guyana received ten and nine positive endorsements respectively, by the 15 members UN Security Council Although the poll and its result are supposed to be secret, the result leaked within minutes, and was carried on world media outlets, such as Reuters. The result was as follows   Michelle Bachelet 6 encourage 5  discourage   4 no opinion María Fernanda Espinosa 5 2 8 Rafael Grossi 7 2 6 Rebeca Grynspan 10 1 4 Olara Otunnu 2 5 8 Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett 9 2 4 Macky Sall 6 7 2   Article 97 of the UN Charter states that the “Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council”. Straw polls are informal ballots used to determine the viability of Secretary-General candidates.  The seven current candidates are: Michelle Bachelet Jeria (Chile), who was nominated by Brazil, Chile, and Mexico on 2 February, with Chile withdrawing its nomination on 24 March; María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (Ecuador), who was nominated by Antigua and Barbuda on 11 May; Rafael Mariano Grossi (Argentina), who was nominated by Argentina on 26 November 2025; Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (Costa Rica), who was nominated by Costa Rica on 3 March; Olara Otunnu (Uganda), who was nominated by Uganda on 24 July; Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (Guyana), who was nominated by Guyana on 15 June; and Macky Sall (Senegal), who was nominated by Burundi on 2 March. At Thursday's straw poll, there was no difference between the ballots presented to the five permanent members (P5) and the ten elected members (E10). Council members received one ballot per candidate, containing the candidate’s name followed by three options: “encouraged”, “discouraged”, and “no opinion expressed”.   It is ofcourse early days, and the straw poll is just an informal indication of the mood of the UN Security Council, but the strong showwing by the two womencandidates may be an indication that for the first time, the head of the UN can be a women. (click image to read more) ​

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov
Trending

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

15 January 2026
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)
Murad Muradov
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Murad Muradov