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Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus and call for the momentum to be used for the long-term peace and prosperity of the region

Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus and call for the momentum to be used for the long-term peace and prosperity of the region

On 27 February 2026, the members of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform met in Antwerp, Belgium, to assess developments in the South Caucasus following the initialling of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 8 August 2025 at the White House. The members described the present moment as one of major importance for the region and its neighbours, urging leaders and societies alike to use the current momentum to secure long-term peace and prosperity. Established in 2024 with the support of LINKS Europe, the Platform provides a space for direct dialogue and joint analysis between Armenian and Azerbaijani experts. The members also reaffirmed the importance of continued international engagement and expressed strong support for LINKS Europe’s ongoing peacebuilding work in the region. (Click on the image above for the full statement.)
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Thursday Interview: Dr. Anar Valiyev

Thursday Interview: Dr. Anar Valiyev

Dr. Anar Valiyev is an Associate Professor of Urban and Public Affairs at ADA University in Baku, Azerbaijan, with more than 18 years of experience in higher education. His research focuses on public policy, urban development, governance, and post-Soviet regional affairs. He holds a PhD in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of Louisville and has published widely on urbanisation, policy reform, and regional connectivity in the South Caucasus and beyond. This week, commonspace.eu spoke with Dr. Valiyev in Brussels ahead of a roundtable jointly organised by LINKS Europe Foundation and the European Policy Centre. He is taking part in a panel discussion focusing on the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process, its implications for both countries and the wider region, the involvement of the European Union and the United States, and the challenges that lie ahead. In this interview, he reflects on how his research has evolved over nearly two decades in academia, examines the transformative potential of regional connectivity and trade, discusses the strategic role of energy in Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, and highlights the importance of people-to-people ties through education as a form of long-term soft power. (Read the full interview by clicking on the image above)

Russian analyst:

I have repeatedly said that the Minsk Group is engaged in its own PR- campaign only. The resolution, specifically the start of the real resolution of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict is possible only after the U.S. finally sets the date of the military actions against Iran, which is not far off. Zakharov, Professor, Candidate of Science, History, Director of the Institute for Political and Social Studies of the Black Sea-Caspian region said in an interview with ArmInfo.

"The OSCE Minsk Group tries to show that it is not "asleep" and takes specific measures often "by- passing" the Russian representative. They have prepared something to be on the safe side or to favor their overseas patrons. Europe much speaks of Turkey's role in resolution of the Karabakh conflict. But it is not serious thinking that Turkey will make any real steps in order NKR gets the status of an independent sovereign state. Unfortunately, no one speaks on Iran's inclusion into the OSCE MG, while that country would render quite an effective assistance in the process," he said.

It is not a secret, Zakharov said, that the U.S. strives to oust Russia from the negotiation process. At present, the USA is taking a multi-step action to enforce that goal. The so-called reloading was
invested by the USA, to make Russian politicians and president "get on the hook" and behave differently in the negotiations with American politicians, first of all. And they did it, unfortunately. Second, they strive to oust Russia from everywhere possible.

"Although our analysts warned the authorities of all that, they did not listen to their alarms. The authorities have their analysts who prefer the desirable situation to the real one proceeding from the
principle of self- protection. In the meantime, Russia has many times yielded its positions over the last years and keeps on yielding one of its positions now. For instance, Russia's consent to monitoring of
cargoes on its borders with Abkhazia and South Ossetia was not just a mistake, but a failure in the country's foreign political course for some mythical membership of WTO, which will only affect our economy and producers," Zakharov said.

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Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus and call for the momentum to be used for the long-term peace and prosperity of the region

Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform: Members emphasise the importance of the present moment for the South Caucasus and call for the momentum to be used for the long-term peace and prosperity of the region

On 27 February 2026, the members of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Strategic Expert Platform met in Antwerp, Belgium, to assess developments in the South Caucasus following the initialling of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 8 August 2025 at the White House. The members described the present moment as one of major importance for the region and its neighbours, urging leaders and societies alike to use the current momentum to secure long-term peace and prosperity. Established in 2024 with the support of LINKS Europe, the Platform provides a space for direct dialogue and joint analysis between Armenian and Azerbaijani experts. The members also reaffirmed the importance of continued international engagement and expressed strong support for LINKS Europe’s ongoing peacebuilding work in the region. (Click on the image above for the full statement.)

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Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

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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)