Region

South Caucasus

Stories under this heading cover the South Caucasus – a region encompassing Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as the unrecognised entities of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh.

For those interested specifically in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and events and developments in and around Nagorno-Karabakh following the 2020 44-day war, check out our sister page, KarabakhSpace.eu.

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Briefing: intensive diplomatic efforts around the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process
Intense diplomatic efforts over the last month are a good reflection of a sustained determination on the part of Armenia and Azerbaijan to bring their decades-old conflict to an end, and sign a peace agreement, writes commonspace.eu. Meetings between president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and prime minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia were held in Brussels on 15 May, with the mediation of EU Council president Charles Michel. The three leaders met again on 1 June in Chisinau, this time also with the participation of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Aliyev and Pashinyan met, together with president Putin of Russia, in Moscow on 25 May. And on 4 June the leaders of both Armenia and Azerbaijan were in Ankara for the inauguration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new term in office, where they also met informally. The next formal meeting is now set to be held in July in Brussels. A lot is also going on behind the scenes with European and American envoys travelling in the region.
patrickn97 Fri, 06/09/2023 - 11:21
Opinion: we may still be far from an Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty

Current circumstances in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process raise a number of questions, writes Vasif Huseynov in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. "Above all, it is unclear whether Baku and Yerevan will be able to stand resilient against all this pressure from the Russian side.

patrickn97 Fri, 06/09/2023 - 09:57

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Opinion: prospects for Armenia-Turkey normalization

"The devastating earthquake in Turkey, and Armenia's decision to provide humanitarian assistance and send rescue teams, have however opened a new window of opportunity for revitalizing the stalled [normalization] process," writes Benyamin Poghosyan for commonspace.eu. "Turkey assessed the Armenian government's gesture positively, and the Armenian foreign minister's visit to Turkey made it possible to advance the implementation of agreements reached in 2022.

patrickn97 Wed, 04/12/2023 - 08:59
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to deepen cooperation as Aliyev meets Tokayev in Astana
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have agreed to significantly increase bilateral cooperation in a number of sectors after the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana on Monday (10 April). The meeting was comprehensive, focusing on strengthening political, trade, economic, transport and transit, as well as cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the two Caspian Sea states. The two presidents signed several memoranda of understanding on cooperation in sports, diaspora initiatives, science, telecommunications, business and culture. President Aliyev and President Tokayev also signed a joint statement and protocol on the establishment of a Supreme Interstate Council, "which is designed to serve the comprehensive strengthening of bilateral relations", according to Tokayev. He said, "The full deployment of the potential of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, the so-called Middle Corridor, is of particular importance." Meanwhile, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is "truly determined to deepen and expand the multifaceted cooperation" with Kazakhstan.
patrickn97 Tue, 04/11/2023 - 09:39
"Azerbaijan Campaign to ban landmines" holds awareness-raising event in Baku
The Azerbaijani NGO "Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines" has held an event in Baku State University to mark International Landmines Awareness Day. The focus of the event was the impact of landmines on victims and their communities - which is also the current theme of the regional campaign Landmine Free South Caucasus. During the event, attended by over a hundred students from Baku State University presentations were made by Hafiz Safikhanov, Director of "Azerbaijan Campaign to Ban Landmines" (picture below) and a representative of ANAMA, the national state demining agency of Azerbaijan.
dennis2020 Fri, 04/07/2023 - 08:27
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Commentary
Commentary: is this the end of the love affair between Georgia and the United States?
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Commentary: is this the end of the love affair between Georgia and the United States?

6 April 2023
The imposition of US sanctions against four Georgian judges now makes the rift between the US and Georgian governments formal, writes commonspace.eu in this commentary. "It will have consequences, and both sides have much to lose. The GD government may decide to drift further away from the US. Given that any relations with Moscow remain, in Georgian domestic political terms, toxic, its room for manoeuvre is limited. That does not mean that most Georgians want their country to become a US client state either. But it is unlikely that Georgian nationalist sensibilities are going to be disturbed by the fact that Judge Maisuradze and company cannot travel to the US. But there are always things the GD government can do, some without too much attention in the public eye, to further erode US influence. Weakening the two pillars of US engagement with Georgia is now likely to become a GD priority."
commonspace.eu editorial team
Opinion: Armenia should be part of the South Caucasus-EU energy relationship
Economic projects can help the normalisation Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, but this should also include co-operation at the regional level, says Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. He adds, "Armenia has strong potential to become an exporter of renewable energy to the EU. The participation of Armenia in the Black Sea Energy submarine cable project will contribute to the country’s economic development. It will boost regional economic cooperation, which is much needed to foster stability and security in the South Caucasus. It will strengthen the EU’s position and role in the region and is fully in line with overall EU strategy toward the South Caucasus".
dennis2020 Wed, 04/05/2023 - 11:43
Landmine Free South Caucasus releases educational video on the consequences of landmines and ERWs

To mark the 4 April International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, the regional campaign Landmine Free South Caucasus has released the following educational video about the consequences of landmines and explosive remnants of war in the South Caucasus.

You can watch the video on YouTube by clicking here.

patrickn97 Tue, 04/04/2023 - 15:45
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