Diplomacy

In preparation for its Eastern Partnership Summit (EaP) in December, and after drastic regional shifts, the EU is trying hard to improve its position in the South Caucasus. In this commentary for commonspace.eu, Mahammad Mammadov unpacks the EU's strategy in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, looking at what can be gleaned from its recent high-profile visits to the region and billions in newly declared financial assistance.

The recent battle that erupted in Al-Baydah, centre of Yemen, has simmered like its counterpart in Marib. Groups and formations fighting the Houthis on the battlefront failed to garner sufficient support to withhold the recent gains by the legitimate government of Yemen allowing the Houthis to recapture some of the areas lost by them in the past few weeks. 

Thousands of Ethiopians gathered at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa as the government announced the completion of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). While Egypt is relieved by the quick ending of the filling, joined by Sudan, it still calls to reach a final trilateral agreement with Ethiopia on the operation of the dam. 

US President Joe Biden met with Jordan's King Abdullah on Monday (19 July) during his visit to Washington DC. Jordan remains one of the United States' closest friends in a volatile and often hostile neighbourhood.

The two strong men of the Arabian peninsula, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and the UAE Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, met in Riyadh on Monday (19 July) in a show of solidarity to put to rest rumours of a rift between them and their two countries.

The European Union in a statement issued on Monday has accused China of being responsible for a massive cyber attack earlier this year. The attack targeted Microsoft Exchange servers, affecting over a quarter of a million servers around the world. The statement said the malicious cyber activities "significantly affected our economy, security, democracy and society at large. The EU and its member states assess these malicious cyber activities to have been undertaken from the territory of China." The statement appears to take EU-China relations to a new low not seen for decades.

Michel emphasised the importance of lasting peace in the region and said the European Union was ready to play a positive role as an honest broker to contribute to peace and stability in the region.

The European Council president, Charles Michel, has began a regional tour of the South Caucasus aimed at re-enforcing the EU's relations with the region. On Saturday, Michel arrived in Armenia where he had a meeting with prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and afterwards addressed a press conference. Michel told journalists that the EU has the ambition to have a loyal, engaged and active relationship with the region that would contribute for its stability, prosperity and security.