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South Caucasus

Stories under this heading cover the South Caucasus – a region encompassing Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as the unrecognised entities of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh.

For those interested specifically in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and events and developments in and around Nagorno-Karabakh following the 2020 44-day war, check out our sister page, KarabakhSpace.eu.

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News
Azerbaijan and China sign Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
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Azerbaijan and China sign Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

8 May 2025
China and Azerbaijan have announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries following talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Beijing on 23 April. During the talks, President Xi said that both sides should continuously enhance political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation and strengthen international collaboration to open a new chapter of all-round cooperation. President Aliyev was in China for  a state visit between 22 and 24 April.
commonspace.eu
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Opinion
Opinion: Armenia Braces for a Turbulent Pre-Election Period
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Opinion: Armenia Braces for a Turbulent Pre-Election Period

6 May 2025
With parliamentary elections in Armenia just over a year away, opposition figures and some analysts are increasingly questioning Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s prospects for re-election. Critics argue that he has failed to fulfil his widely promoted peace agenda and hold him accountable for the exodus of approximately 100,000 ethnic Armenians from the former Soviet-era Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) in late September 2023. They also point to unrealistic campaign promises made during the last parliamentary elections held in 2021, including the pledge to reclaim the strategic hilltop citadel of Shusha and pursue remedial secession for the separatist but now dissolved Karabakh — goals widely seen as unattainable from the outset.
Onnik James Krikorian

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Opinion
Opinion: There is still a chance Russia will be a spoiler in the Armenia-Turkey normalisation process
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Opinion: There is still a chance Russia will be a spoiler in the Armenia-Turkey normalisation process

22 March 2022
As long as Turkey maintains a fairly neutral stance on the Ukraine issue, Russia will not interfere in the current efforts to normalise Armenian-Turkish relations, says Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed. "However, if Turkey changes its policy towards Russia, and joins the anti-Russian sanctions the situation may change. In such case, this may break the Russian – Turkish understanding for the post-2020 South Caucasus. Russia may assume the role of spoiler in the Armenia – Turkey normalization process, significantly slowing down the movement towards establishing diplomatic relations and opening up borders." 
Benyamin Poghosyan
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Opinion
Opinion: Sanctions will weaken Russia's role as a transit route from Europe to China and increase the importance of the "middle corridor"
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Opinion: Sanctions will weaken Russia's role as a transit route from Europe to China and increase the importance of the "middle corridor"

18 March 2022
"The sanctions imposed on the Russian economy will have a significant impact on Russia, limiting its ability to conduct foreign trade relations, which will in turn affect its position as a main transit country in Eurasia", writes Orkhan Baghirov in this op-ed. "Within the new geo-political realities, the Middle Corridor can emerge the winner, and can become the main land route in Eurasia. It will in turn strengthen the political and economic position of the participating states, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the Central Asian countries, all of who aspire to become regional transportation hubs".
Orkhan Baghirov
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Opinion
Opinion: Iran and Azerbaijan find common language and interests
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Opinion: Iran and Azerbaijan find common language and interests

17 March 2022
"A remarkable event occurred on March 11 in Baku when Azerbaijan and Iran, after a period of turbulence in their bilateral relations, signed a new document establishing new transport and electricity supply links connecting mainland Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan via Iranian territory", writes Fuad Shahbazov in this op-ed. "The new transit corridor will renew the partnership dialogue between Baku and Tehran, give new economic tools to Azerbaijan in the region, and bolster trade with its natural ally Turkey. On the other hand, the potential normalization process with Armenia would be an additional asset to further regional stability, and will end Armenia’s ongoing economic isolation."
Fuad Shahbazov
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Opinion
Opinion: On Ukraine, Armenia seeks to avoid the dark side of history
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Opinion: On Ukraine, Armenia seeks to avoid the dark side of history

16 March 2022
Armenia is one of the countries that have had to make difficult decisions whilst positioning itself in the current stand-off between Russia and Ukraine. Despite the fact that it has little room for manoeuvre, and is very dependent on Russia in many spheres, Armenia has taken a pragmatic but principled position, writes Bojan Stojkovski in this op-ed for commonspace.eu
Bojan Stojkovski
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Analysis
Ukraine poses a dilemma to the three South Caucasus countries, but they have still one important card they can play
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Ukraine poses a dilemma to the three South Caucasus countries, but they have still one important card they can play

10 March 2022
Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe and Managing Editor of Commonspace.eu discusses how the countries of the South Caucasus have reacted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what they should do next. “In the present circumstances, the strongest card that the three countries have, if they choose to play it, is regional co-operation and an informal loosely co-ordinated common approach”, he says. All the Russian strategy in the South Caucasus in the last thirty years has been built  on the premise of adversity and unhealthy competition between and within the three countries. Debunking this will be a major victory for all the countries and people in the region.
Dennis Sammut
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Analysis
Opinion: If Russia is able to keep its "big power" status after the Ukraine crisis, it will seek to work with Iran and Armenia to contain Turkish influence in the South Caucasus
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Opinion: If Russia is able to keep its "big power" status after the Ukraine crisis, it will seek to work with Iran and Armenia to contain Turkish influence in the South Caucasus

7 March 2022
"If Russia successfully resists the unprecedented pressure from the West and remains one of the main poles in the emerging multipolar world, its interests lie in balancing Turkish influence in its neighborhood, including the South Caucasus. It does not imply that Russia and Turkey will stop their economic cooperation. It simply means that Russia will seek to prevent Turkish dominance over the South Caucasus", writes Benyamin Poghosyan in this analysis on current geo-politics in the South Caucasus.
Benyamin Poghosyan
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