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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
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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

2 March 2026
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
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Thursday Interview: Dr. Anar Valiyev

27 February 2026
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)
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Dr. Anar Valiyev
Leader of Islamist insurgency in North Caucasus killed.

Leader of Islamist insurgency in North Caucasus killed.

12 August 2015

The leader of the "Caucasus Emirate" group in Russia's North Caucasus region has been killed in a mountain raid that included air strikes, Russian security services said Tuesday.

Four people died in the operation by Russia's special forces and military, Dagestan's interior ministry said. The recently appointed leader of the Caucasus Emirate group, Magomed Suleimanov, was among those killed, the National Anti-terrorist Committee (NAK) said in a statement to Russian news agencies.

Insurgent website Kavkaz Center also said that Suleimanov, 39, was killed in the course of a two-day raid near the mountain village of Gimry which included strikes from helicopters.

The Caucasus Emirate group had claimed several major attacks on Russian soil in recent years, including the Domodedovo airport bombing, which killed 27 people, and more recently twin blasts in the southern city of Volgograd which killed 34.

The Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus has recently been riddled with internal disputes as fighters pledged allegiance to different groups, including ISIL.

The Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus initially centred around Chechnya, but in the late 1990s it started spreading to other Russian regions, particularly Daghestan. The Caucasus Emirate emerged as the leading force for the insurgency at the time. It has subsequently been weakened, under pressure from Russian forces, as well as due to internal quarrels.

source: commonspace.eu with agencies.

photo: Magomed Suleimanov, the leader of the Islamist insurgency in the North caucasus was killed by Russian special forces on 11 August 2015. (archive picture).

 

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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
Trending

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

2 March 2026
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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Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

15 January 2026
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)
Murad Muradov
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Murad Muradov