Armenian and Azerbaijani experts say they are on schedule to publish their report on CBMs in March

Rapporteurs say Armenian and Azerbaijani experts working on a report on how short, medium and long-term confidence building measures can contribute to lasting peace in the South Caucasus are on schedule to publishing their report next March. The group is currently engaging with both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, and a number of interim discussion papers will also be published over the next weeks.

The three co-rapporteurs of JOLIG, an Armenian-Azerbaijani Joint Liaison Group of experts, held an on-line meeting on Tuesday (21 December) to review progress in the work of the group, assess recent developments and plan the next steps.

The Joint Liaison Group on confidence-building measures in support of lasting peace in the South Caucasus (JOLIG) held its first meeting in Kachreti, Georgia on 30 September 2021, and is composed of twenty experts, practitioners and activists from Armenia and Azerbaijan.

related content: Armenian and Azerbaijani experts discuss the role of confidence-building measures in support of lasting peace in the South Caucasus during a workshop in Kachreti, Georgia 

The group is currently preparing a report on how short, medium and long-term confidence building measures can contribute to lasting peace in the South Caucasus. The report is expected to be presented by the end of March 2022, but a number of short discussion papers are also being published in the interim.

related content:  Opinion: In the South Caucasus, one year after a costly war, a glimmer of hope for peace

The three co-rapporteurs of the Joint Liaison Group: Benyamin Poghosyan, Chairman of the Centre for Political and Economic Strategic Studies (Yerevan), Ahmad Alili, Director of the Caucasus Policy Analysis Centre (Baku) and Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe (The Hague), reviewed recent developments in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, as well as in the wider region, including the trilateral Russia-Armenia-Azerbaijan meeting in Sochi on 26 November, and the trilateral EU-Armenia-Azerbaijan meeting in Brussels on 14 December, and in particular noted the importance given to confidence and trust building measures in the statements coming out of both meetings. The rapporteurs agreed on a schedule of work over the next three months. In the execution of its work the Joint Liaison Group is engaging with both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. The group’s work is facilitated by LINKS Europe foundation and is supported by the European Union.

related content: Armenian and Azerbaijani experts send joint recommendations on process of confidence-building in the South Caucasus to Eastern Partnership summit

For further information on the work of the Joint Liaison Group please contact the Group's secretariat at LINKS Europe (office@links-europe.eu)

source: commonspace.eu
photo: The three rapporteurs of the Joint Liaison Group (JOLIG) from l to r: Benyamin Poghosyan, Dennis Sammut and Ahmad Alili.

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
In Ethiopia, government forces take rebel capital

In Ethiopia, government forces take rebel capital

Government forces in Ethiopia, have taken control of the town of Mekelle, capital of the Tigray region. Earlier, Ethiopia's federal military said it had recaptured the main airport in the capital of the northern Tigray region, dealing a major setback to an ​opposition alliance in its stronghold. Clashes pitting a rebel alliance led by Tigray's ruling party ‌against the government and its allied forces broke out in northern Ethiopia last week, in the most serious escalation of violence since a 2020-2022 civil war. The fighting has stoked fears that it could escalate into a wider regional conflict, potentially drawing in neighbouring ​countries in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf. In recent days Ethiopia and Eritrea broke off diplomatic relations amid mutual accusations. In Washington, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott ​said the United States strongly urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to "exercise maximum restraint and return ⁠to dialogue and cooperation as agreed in their 2018 peace framework." "The Horn of Africa cannot sustain another ​military conflict and humanitarian crisis," Pigott said. "A conflict jeopardizes ongoing U.S. collaboration on shared interests with both countries." The ​federal government in Addis Ababa accused Eritrea of supporting the rebel alliance alongside Sudan and Egypt. The three countries deny this. Troops from the Ethiopian National Defence Forces had regained control of Alula Aba ​Nega Airport in Tigray's capital Mekelle,   A Mekelle resident who asked not to be named for security reasons, confirmed the ‌taking of ⁠the airport by government forces and added they could hear gunfire outside the city centre. This source said they had seen some Tigrayan Defence Force fighters abandoning their posts and heading home, and that there was looting of government facilities taking place in the city. Mekelle's airport, which ​is around 10 km (6 miles) from the centre of the city, was ​one of three ⁠airports in the region that were seized by the opposition forces at the start of the fighting on September 23. The taking of Mekelle by government forces would be a major setback for the opposition alliance, although analysts say ⁠it ​would be unlikely to end the conflict. In 2020, federal forces captured ​Mekelle within the first month of the two year war before the TPLF reclaimed it seven months later.

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)