South Caucasus

The Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday (7 July). This was the third face-to face meeting of the two leaders in six months. The two men also speak on the phone often. “Putin’s peace” between Armenia and Azerbaijan has so far held, yet the Kremlin must be under no illusion that it will be plain sailing going forward. There is still a lot of work to be done before Armenia and Azerbaijan commence the journey for peace and reconciliation, and the Russian’s may even have their own reasons for not wanting that process to move too swiftly. The alternative is tight management of the current arrangements, and that may mean many more Putin-Pashinyan meetings to come.

Far right protestors tore down the European flag from in front of the Georgian parliament and burnt it on Tuesday night (6 July) amid ongoing tensions in Tbilisi as vigilantes attempted to violently disrupt Pride Week activities.

Dozens of journalists attacked and injured; a peaceful civil march cancelled under government pressure; offices of a civil society organisation ransacked; outbursts of intolerance and homophobia; and a government that at best sat and watched as things unfolded – at worst itself abetted the outrage. This was Tbilisi on 5 July 2021, a day that will be remembered as a day of shame for Georgia.

The European Union has indicated it is re-enforcing its engagement with the South Caucasus, including on the thorny issues of conflict resolution. Dennis Sammut argues in this op-ed that this is timely and necessary. The region needs more EU, less Russia and prospects for a better quality of life for all its people. For this to happen the EU needs to be more strategic in its approach to the region and there is no longer place for hesitation and ambiguity, he argues.

The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has called for more EU engagement with the South Caucasus. Writing on his blog on the website of the European External Action Service, Borrell said that there is a growing expectation on the side of EU member states and partners for the EU to take a more active role in addressing the conflicts in the Eastern neighbourhood. "We are ready to help rebuild not only physical roads and bridges, but also paths to reconciliation and peaceful co-existence," the High Representative said.

TRACECA seeks a closer co-operation with the European Union as it pursues its plans and activities to promote connectivity Europe-Caucasus-Asia in areas related to transport. This was stated by the Secretary-General of the TRACECA Inter-Governmental Commission, Asset Assavbayev, who this week was on a visit to Brussels  for discussions with EU officials. TRACECA brings together thirteen countries that form a transport corridor stretching from the heart of Europe to the borders of China.

The foreign ministers of Austria, Romania and Lithuania visited Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia 25-26 June as special emissaries of the EU High Representative Josep Borrell. commonspace.eu political editor said in a comment that this was a small but important gesture with the purpose of sending a clear message to the region, and to others interested in it, that the European Union remains committed and engaged.