Diplomacy

The visit of the Syrian leader, Ahmed al Sharaa to Baku on 12 July was short but highly significant. The discussions between al Sharaa and president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan were substantive and covered a number of areas, including Syria's complicated relationship with Israel, and Syria's energy crises. Talks between Syria and the Azerbaijani oil and gas company SOCAR have been on-going to for several months, and during al Sharaa's visit a Memorandum of Understanding was signed, formalising the relationship. Azerbaijan is reported to be going to supply Syria with gas via Turkiye. During the discussions the possibility of using the facilities of the Turkish State energy company, Botas, was also discussed, and the plan is to use the newly constructed Kilis-Azaz-al Bab-Aleppo pipeline. According to various Syrian, Israeli and Azerbaijani sources a meeting also took place in Baku on 12 July between Syrian and Israeli officials regarding possible normalisation of relations

A number of European states have said that they are "disturbed and deeply concerned at the deteriorating situation in Georgia". In a Joint statement of 11 July 2025 the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the High Representative of the European Union commented on recent developments in Georgia We, the Foreign Ministers of European democracies, are disturbed and deeply concerned at the deteriorating situation in Georgia. We strongly condemn the recent, politically motivated, imprisonment and detention of the leaders of Georgian opposition, clearly designed to stifle political opposition in Georgia, a few months ahead of the local elections. Their detention, as well as arbitrary arrests and increasing repression of other Georgian authorities` critics, representatives of civil society, peaceful protesters and independent journalists, contribute to dismantling of democracy in Georgia and rapid transformation towards an authoritarian system, in contradiction to European norms and values. Recent legislative changes aim at stifling independent civil society and legitimate protest.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has reported strong evidence of ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s Darfur region. On Thursday (10 July), the ICC’s deputy prosecutor, Nazhat Shameem Khan, told the U.N. Security Council that current reports describe famine, attacks on hospitals and aid convoys, the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, and the forced recruitment of children to fight as soldiers. Khan also argued that 'abductions for ransom had become common practice'.

On Thursday (10 July), Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in the UAE to advance their peace negotiations, following the March agreement on a draft treaty intended to end decades of conflict. The talks, which covered border delimitation and confidence-building measures, were described by both sides as constructive. However, no final timeline for signing the full agreement was announced.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are meeting on Thursday 10 July in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to discuss the next steps in finalising the peace agreement, their offices have confirmed to international news agencies. This is the first formal bilateral meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan since they agreed on the draft text of the peace agreement, following nearly four decades of conflict. The results of this meeting will shape the future of the South Caucasus and how the two countries can live peacefully next to each other after decades of conflict.

On Tuesday (8 July), Magnus Brunner, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, was expelled from the country by the internationally unrecognised government of eastern Libya, along with three European ministers. The delegation had hoped to reach an agreement with the government of army leader Khalifa Haftar to stop migrants leaving the country.

The animosity between Armenians and Azerbaijanis runs deep. The two nations fought many battles against each other. In the wars of the last forty years, tens of thousands of people were killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and billions of euros were lost in economic harm. On Thursday, 13 March 2025, the two sides finally announced that they had agreed on the text of a peace agreement. The agreement will be signed soon. Within societies, on both sides, there are expectations of what this peace will bring. There is also a sense of uncertainty and confusion, which is being used by spoilers, internal and external. A dialogue involving different segments of society, is now more important than ever. But this dialogue needs to have new characteristics to respond to new realities. LINKS Europe, an organisation that has been involved in many peace initiatives in the South Caucasus in the past, is currently engaged in such a process. It recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks, dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program.

On Thursday (3 July), Russia formally recognised the Taliban government in Afghanistan by accepting credentials from its new ambassador, Gul Hassan Hassan. In April, Russia removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organisations. On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry welcomed this decision, stating that diplomatic ties would promote "productive bilateral cooperation" in areas such as trade, energy, transport, agriculture, and security. Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, welcomed Russia’s move, calling it 'historic' and expressing hope that other countries would follow suit. This reflects the Taliban's growing efforts to gain international legitimacy since seizing power in August 2021 following the US withdrawal from the country.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has ended her official visit to Armenia after signing a partnership agreement with authorities in Yerevan. Following talks with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, a joint press conference was held in which the media was briefed about an agreement outlining Armenia’s participation in the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy crisis management operations. According to Kallas, the document envisions Armenia’s participation in EU missions around the world.