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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OSCE Parliamentary Assembly calls for Release of Political Prisoners in Georgia

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly calls for Release of Political Prisoners in Georgia

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has called for the immediate release of all political prisoners in Georgia in a declaration adopted during the Assembly’s 32nd annual session held in Porto, Portugal on 3 July. The declaration expressed alarm over the developments since the parliamentary elections held on 26 October last year including reports of arbitrary detentions, violence and ill-treatment of protesters, opposition leaders and media representatives, as documented by civil society organizations and the Public Defender of Georgia. The declaration also called for new elections to be held in Georgia.
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Monday Commentary
Dialogue between Armenians and Azerbaijanis now more important than ever

Dialogue between Armenians and Azerbaijanis now more important than ever

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.

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100th anniversary: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are right to celebrate this year
100th anniversary: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are right to celebrate this year

100th anniversary: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are right to celebrate this year

Lessons from the short-lived South Caucasus Republics of the early 20th century can be learned. Celebrations are in order, but a trilateral summit to mark the occasion should be considered too, argues Dennis Sammut in this commentary.
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Karabakh: the ticking bomb that refuses to stop ticking

Karabakh: the ticking bomb that refuses to stop ticking

2018 has already claimed the first casualty from the Karabakh conflict. A 19 year old Armenian soldier was shot dead by an Azerbaijani sniper on Sunday. How many more young Armenians and Azerbaijanis will be killled this year?
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News
Eastern churches celebrate Christmas

Eastern churches celebrate Christmas

The Christmas celebration had particular significance this year in Egypt, where the Coptic Church has been under sustained terrorist attacks from Islamic fundamentalists. The service, led by Pope Tawadros II, was also attended by the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al Sisi