South Caucasus

"Vance’s visit did more than consolidate a peace process – it began rewiring the South Caucasus through energy, AI, and infrastructure. The region’s future alignment may well be determined less by traditional security blocs and more by who controls the region’s transport routes, builds its reactors, powers its data centers, and lays its fiber-optic cables", writes Vasif Husseynov, in this op-ed for commonspace.eu Vance’s February 9–11 visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan marked a structural turning point in the South Caucasus. Unlike previous high-level engagements of the United States that generated rhetorical alignment but limited follow-through, this visit embedded the region into long-term American economic, technological, and strategic frameworks. Taking place on the heels of the latest agreement (January 14) between Washington and Yerevan on the implementation framework for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), the visit served to consolidate the American influence in the region and taking it to higher levels. The consequences are unfolding along two axes: domestically, within Armenia and Azerbaijan’s political economies; and geopolitically, in the region’s recalibrating balance between the United States and Russia, with Georgia seeking entry into the new configuration. (click the image to read the op-ed in full).