Delays in signing an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement open the prospects that the process may be derailed as a result of domestic politics. Next month, Yerevan will go to the polls to indirectly elect a new mayor. The parliamentary opposition is boycotting the vote, and a large number of voters remain apathetic or undecided, but the vote can still be seen as demonstrative enough ahead of the 2026 national parliamentary elections. In this op-ed for commonspace.eu, Onnik James Krikorian argues that Pashinyan foes are already attempting to turn the 17 September 2023 vote into a ‘referendum’ on Armenia-Azerbaijan talks and former de facto State Minister of Karabakh Ruben Vardanyan has called for the same. If Karabakh does dominate the campaign trail, and if Pashinyan’s Civil Contract can emerge victorious with no major abuse of administrative resources recorded, then there would hardly be any political reason not to sign a peace agreement in the nearest future. But if the government were to lose City Hall as 2025 and 2026 approaches, then that would look even less certain. For now, that does not appear likely, but what happens next month could greatly influence Pashinyan’s options in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

The role of women in various aspects of Saudi society has been changing dramatically in recent years. One area where great strides has been made is the arts and culture scene, including in various Saudi regions. The women’s art movement in Baha is elevating the Saudi art scene by showcasing regional and national heritage. Visual artist Samia Al-Othman told the Saudi Press Agency that the women’s art movement in Baha has witnessed significant development in recent years. Al-Othman has taken part in local and international exhibitions and forums, and undergone training courses in different art schools, utilizing a range of techniques since 2012. Nada Al-Jabiri said that she discovered her talent at an early age, adding that aspirations for the future can be seen in her drawings, which aligns with empowering women and using their artistic ideas. Women artists in Baha have been influenced by local and global experiences, which is reflected in many of their works. (SPA) She added that visual art is sending a great message by highlighting national identity and introducing Saudi cultural, historic, social and artistic heritage to the world.

India will underline the need for further diversity, the voice of the Global South as well as a human-centric approach to globalism as the country gears up for the G-20 leader’s meeting on 9 and 10 September in New Delhi under the motto "One Earth, One Family, One Future." India, as a developing country, has placed utmost importance on inclusivity for its G-20 presidency and has within this scope invited several non-G-20 members for the range of meetings held during the country’s term. The 32 countries, in addition to the G-20 members and guest countries, are present in the programs. The G-20 includes the European Union and the major economies of all continents, including the U.S., China, Russia and Germany. The Indian Presidency has drawn out six focus points, namely inclusive and resilient growth, progress on the sustainable development goals (SDGs), green development and life, technological transformation and digital public infrastructure, reforming multilateral institutions as well as women-led development.  India announced that it made a proposal for the African Union to be a permanent member of the G-20. The world’s economic gravity center has shifted dramatically in the past years. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the share of emerging markets in global trade increased from 32% to 46% between 200 and 2019, while their share of receiving global foreign direct investment (FDI) rose from 15% to 46% and most of the world’s GDP growth occurs in those emerging markets.  India, the most populous country in the world, for its part, is aiming to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027. In 2014 it was the 10th largest, while today it ranks fifth.

The summit of BRICS - the group bringing together Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa concluded this morning with an invitation to six countries to join as from 1 January 2024. Speaking at a briefing at the end of the summit, the president of host country South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, said   "We reiterate our commitment to inclusive multilateralism and upholding international law, including the purposes and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. We are concerned about ongoing conflicts in many parts of the world. We stress our commitment to the peaceful resolution of differences and disputes through dialogue and inclusive consultation." Ramaphosa said that BRICS is a diverse group of nations. "It is an equal partnership of countries that have differing views but have a shared vision for a better world." "As the five BRICS countries, we have reached agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process, which has been under discussion for quite a while.  We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and further phases will follow. We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of BRICS. The membership will take effect from 1 January 2024."

“Religion will play a more effective role in the establishment of peace when we do not offer our believers only religious dialogues or other formal formats, but we call and teach them to firmly adhere to the divine blessing, the doctrines that from time immemorial teach us to love our neighbour, condemn violence and inspire us to be at peace with ourselves and with the world. The role of religion in peacemaking is what it should always have been - to preach love, including of those who are different from us, those who are not like us. There is a lot of material for this kind of teaching in the Caucasus region, and not using it is an important missed resource, especially if we take into account the fact that the vast majority of the population of our countries consider themselves believers.” This was stated by His Grace Metropolitan Grigoli, Archbishop of Poti and Khobi whilst addressing participants of the first South Caucasus Youth Peace Summer School (SCYPSS), which is being held in Kachreti, Georgia from 21-31 August 2023. Metropolitan Grigoli warned that “wounds caused by war and conflict cannot be healed by another war! The power of mind and language is always greater than that of arms, and peace between countries should be built on the peace-loving nature of human being; All paths leading to peace today are expressions of responsible moral consciousness”. At the end of his speech Archbishop Grigoli praised the initiative to hold the first South Caucasus Youth peace Summer School and congratulated participants for their contribution to the work of the School.

The first South Caucasus Youth Peace Summer School (SCYPSS) was officially opened on Monday, 21 August in Kachreti in Georgia. Thirty participants aged between 20 and 29, ten each from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, are attending the event which will last ten days. At the opening session on Monday (21 August), Dr Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe, Ms Rebecca Lie, Charge d’affaires at the Embassy of Norway in Tbilisi and Gottfried Hanne, Head of the Regional Office of the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus made short remarks during which they highlighted the significance of the school, and the importance of timing during which it is being held. During the opening session participants and guests marked a minute of silence to remember the many young people who died in conflicts in the South Caucasus in the last three and half decades: “We owe it to them to work for peace in the region so that future generations will not have to make the same sacrifice”, Dr Sammut said in his opening remarks. He said that the School was an opportunity for young people from the three countries to reflect on their future, and find ways of building that future together. He said the School was an exercise in sharing ideas and learning from each other’s experiences. Earlier, the School’s Dean of Studies, Dr Maja Vodopovic from Leiden University outlined the topics that will be covered during the ten days of School activity. Guest speakers will also visit the School over this period to deliver lectures and workshops. On 29-30 August, the thirty school participants will join established experts and practitioners from the region and beyond for the first South Caucasus Regional Dialogue Forum.

Thirty young leaders, activists and opinion shapers from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia will participate in the first South Caucasus Youth Peace Summer School (SCYPSS), which will be held in Kachreti Georgia from 21-31 August 2023. SCYPSS is an initiative of LINKS Europe and is organised with the support of the European Union and the Government of Norway. The idea of a South Caucasus Youth Peace Summer School was included in the report "The South Caucasus from war to peace: thirty measures between now and 2030", prepared by the Joint Liaison Group of Armenian and Azerbaijani experts on confidence-building measures in support of lasting peace in the South Caucasus, published in April 2022. A spokesperson for LINKS Europe told commonspace.eu: "The participation of young people from the three countries at this event indicates that there is readiness, despite differences, to meet, share opinions and slowly build trust between different nationalities in the region. SCYPSS is a confidence-building measure at a time when such measures are much needed. LINKS Europe will work with our able international faculty and the participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia for the success of the event".

The Netherlands and Denmark announced Sunday they will give F-16 warplanes to Ukraine, a long-awaited announcement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called an important motivation for his country’s forces, as they continue to repell Russian aggression. After months of entreaties from Zelensky for F-16s to bolster the Ukrainian air force, the US recently gave approval for the Netherlands and Denmark to provide Ukraine the American-made jets. Zelensky traveled to both countries Sunday to finalize the delivery deals.’’F-16s will certainly give new energy, confidence, and motivation to fighters and civilians. I’m sure it will deliver new results for Ukraine and the entire Europe,″ the Ukrainian leader said. Ukraine hopes the jets will give it a combat edge, after launching a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s forces without air cover from Western aircraft, placing its troops at the mercy of Russian aviation and artillery. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte welcomed Zelensky to the Netherlands on Sunday. The two leaders inspected two gray F-16s parked in a hangar at a Dutch base in the southern city of Eindhoven. A few hours later, Zelensky and his wife were received by Danish prime minister Frederiksen, other Danish Cabinet ministers and Crown Princess Mary at the Skrydstrup air base in southern Denmark where Ukrainian pilots will receive F-16 training in coming months. The two leaders climbed into a Danish F-16 and tried out the seats.