Theme

Conflict and Peace

Stories related to violent conflicts, diplomatic tensions, and conflict prevention, mediation and resolution.

Editor's choice
Analysis
Briefing: intensive diplomatic efforts around the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process

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.

Filter archive

Saudi Arabia and US express concern over Sudan ceasefire violations

Saudi Arabi and the United States are "highly concerned" over serious ceasefire violations during ongoing violence in Sudan, between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a joint statement released on Thursday evening (1 June), the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote that "the violations are harming civilians and the nation and blocking the delivery of humanitarian assistance and restoration of essential services".

patrickn97 Fri, 06/02/2023 - 11:19
Editor's choice
News
Connectivity, security and rights, border delimitation and peace treaty discussed at Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Moldova

Connectivity, security and rights, border delimitation and peace treaty discussed at Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Moldova

The Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met yesterday (1 June) near the Moldovan capital, Chisinau. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the second summit of the European Political Community (EPC), and was chaired by the European Council President Charles Michel. The French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, were also in attendance. In remarks made following the meeting, President Michel said that they had a “very good meeting”, in which they addressed the topics of connectivity, security and rights, border delimitation, and the peace treaty. Michel announced that they had scheduled a next meeting of the five leaders for 21 July, to take place in Brussels, adding that yesterday’s meeting was “good preparation” for then. “It means that we are working hard, and we intend to support all the positive efforts in the direction of normalisation of the relations,” said Michel.
Editor's choice
Analysis
Analysis: Landmine contamination in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam region prevents tens of thousands of displaced persons from returning to their homes

Analysis: Landmine contamination in Azerbaijan’s Aghdam region prevents tens of thousands of displaced persons from returning to their homes

The dust of war from the decades-long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has started to settle, and although peace remains elusive, there is hope across the region for a better future. No-one has waited for this moment more than the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who were displaced by the First Karabakh War in the early 1990s.
Editor's choice
News
Drones fly above Kyiv and Moscow, Russia attacks three times in 24 hours

Drones fly above Kyiv and Moscow, Russia attacks three times in 24 hours

Russia has launched three mass aerial assaults on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in 24 hours, with the latest coming in the early hours of Tuesday (30 May).  It was the 17th such attack just this month, with the Kyiv City Military Administration reporting that Iranian-made Shahed drones approached the city from different directions, and in several waves. According to Ukrainian authorities, the country's Air Defense shot down 29 out of 31 drones mostly fired at Kyiv. There are reports of one woman being killed and three others being injured after debris from a destroyed drone fell on a tower block, causing a fire. Drones shot down over other parts of Kyiv did not cause any other casualties, Kyiv City Military Administration reported. Between midnight and 5am yesterday, on Monday (29 May), Ukrainian Air Defenses had also fought off yet another aerial attack from Russia, shooting down 37 out of 40 cruise missiles, and 29 out of 35 Shahed drones. No casualties were reported on that occasion, although a second attack that came late morning yesterday reportedly injured one. Meanwhile, also on Tuesday morning, Muscovites awoke to the sound of explosions as alleged Ukrainian drones were shot down over Moscow. Although Russia's state-run RIA Novosti reports that eight drones were shot down over Moscow, reports on social media suggest that as many as two dozen drones flew over Moscow. Russian authorities have reported that falling debris damaged a tower block, injuring two people, although they were not hospitalised. Ukraine has not commented on the claims.
Editor's choice
News
Moscow and Minsk to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, use remains “extraordinarily unlikely”

Moscow and Minsk to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus, use remains “extraordinarily unlikely”

Yesterday on Thursday (25 May), the Russian and Belarusian defence ministers Sergei Shoigu and Viktor Khrenin signed documents on placing Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus. According to the Russian state-controlled news agency Interfax, Shoigu said at the meeting that decisions over the control and use of the nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus would remain under the control of Russia.  Shoigu added that Russia may take "additional measures" in the future "to ensure the security of the Union State [of Russia and Belarus] and respond to the military-political situation". Russian President Vladimir Putin, and especially TV propagandists, have consistently threatened the West with nuclear weapons as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched on 24 February last year has foundered. On 25 March this year, President Putin threatened to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus "for training", although Belarus has worked towards this development for some time.In their daily assessment of the Russian offensive campaign against Ukraine, the Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that the chance of Russia using the nuclear weapons in Ukraine or elsewhere is "extraordinarily unlikely".
Editor's choice
Analysis
Briefing: Pashinyan ready to sign, not everyone in Stepanakert is happy, Baku hopeful but keeping up pressure

Briefing: Pashinyan ready to sign, not everyone in Stepanakert is happy, Baku hopeful but keeping up pressure

As Armenia and Azerbaijan edge closer to signing an agreement ending decades of conflict between them, the future of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh remains one of the most crucial outstanding issues, writes commonspace.eu. Intense discussions and negotiations have been ongoing throughout May, with meetings in Washington, Brussels and Moscow involving the leaders of the two countries, their foreign ministers, and other senior officials. In a lengthy press conference on 22 May, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that he wants to reach an agreement "as soon as possible". The international community's perception of the negotiations is that Armenia and Azerbaijan should, without reservations, recognise each other's territorial integrity of 29,800 square kilometers and 86,600 square kilometers, respectively, said Pashinyan.
25 million in need of aid in Sudan as clashes threaten Saudi-brokered ceasefire

A ceasefire struck between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces is under threat as clashes broke out in the capital city on Wednesday (24 May).

The week-long ceasefire was agreed after talks in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Saturday (20 May). The ceasefire, which was due to come into force on Monday evening with an internationally-supported monitoring mechanism, was supposed to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Violence has also been reported in the western region of Darfur.

patrickn97 Thu, 05/25/2023 - 11:26