Global

Officials said on Monday (19 April) that Tehran and JCPOA partners have made some progress to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and that an interim agreement could be possible to buy time for a permanent framework. 

The European Union (EU) announced on Monday (19 April) to step up its influence in the Indo-Pacific region in a bid to protect its interests and counter China’s rising economic power.

The recent signing of a strategic partnership with Iran shows that China is now a significant player in the geopolitics of the wider Middle East. This has implications for the South Caucasus and particularly Armenia, writes Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed

Ramadan traditions vary across cultures and regions with more than a billion celebrating the Muslim holy month. Some of the important elements are welcoming chants, costumes and cuisine. Mosques and praying areas are also cleaned and renovated. 

The snap elections for the parliament of Greenland last Tuesday (6 April) attracted unusual interest from major powers who have been watching the political and economic impact of the election results on their interests in the Arctic region. Among them, the Chinese, who have invested in the Kvanefjeld mine on the island. Maximiliaan van Lange analyses the background to the recent Greenlandic general elections, and the Island's geostrategic position in the Arctic in this article for commonspace.eu.

In the South Caucasus, the problem of landmines and other unexploded remnants of war remains a serious issue across the region. Over the last months, since the end of the 44-day Karabakh War, the problem has become more acute as efforts are made to rehabilitate territories that were until recently in the conflict zone. Most of these territories are heavily mined. Problems also remain in other areas on both the Armenian and the Azerbaijani sides of the line of contact and the international border.