Johnny Melikyan is a Yerevan-based political analyst and foreign policy specialist. As a head of department at the Public Relations and Information Center (The Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia) and senior fellow at the Orbeli Center, he has spent more than 15 years studying Georgia and regional dynamics, and today focuses on how diplomacy, connectivity, and economic cooperation can shape stability in the South Caucasus. Speaking to commonspace.eu this week, Melikyan reflected on what he calls a “half-diplomatic” profession, discussed regional developments, including Armenia-Georgia relations, and argued why small states increasingly rely on multi-vector foreign policy strategies to manage external pressures. “For small states, foreign policy is about smart power: being flexible, innovative, and balancing the interests of bigger powers with your own”. (Read the full interview by clicking the image above)

US Vice President J.D, Vance has ended his whirlwind visit to the South Caucasus having been in Armenia on Monday (9th February), and Azerbaijan on Tuesday (10th February). It was a big success. Vance was on his best behavior, and went out of his way to be nice and complimentary to his hosts. In Yerevan, the Vice President and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the completion of negotiations on a 123 Agreement, which establishes a legally binding framework for peaceful nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and partner countries. While in Azerbaijan, Vance and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a Strategic Partnership Charter between the U.S. and Azerbaijan that covers regional connectivity, economic investment, and security and defense issues.  The guests were happy, and the hosts were delighted. Now it is time to put what was agreed in practice. That will be more challenging.