Conflict and Peace

Regional co-operation in the South Caucasus makes sense and will benefit all the people of the region. It is also essential for lasting peace and prosperity, and the EU is uniquely placed to push the process forward, says Dennis Sammut in this commentary.

Toivo Klaar's appointment as the new EU Special Representative to the region comes at an important moment in the EU's relations with the countries of the South Caucasus, and is an expression of the EU's long-standing committment to the region and its people.

Nine years ago Georgia and Russia fought a short war. Different sides bear some responsability for the start of the war, but what eventually happened revealed Russia's bad intentions in the Caucasus and beyond.

Armenian and Azerbaijani societies continue to prepare for war despite the prospect of a presidential summit in the autumn. The best-case scenario is a continuation of low intensity conflict along the line of contact says Dr Benyamin Poghosyan in this commentary.

"Russia effectively uses the complicated geopolitical situation of Armenia to strengthen its grip on Yerevan, and uses its alliance with Armenia as an efficient tool to further its position in the South Caucasus", writes Benyamin Poghosyan in this commentary for commonspace.eu

In this commentary, Dennis Sammut says that Armenia and Azerbaijan have failed to learn the right lessons from the fighting in April 2016

The Director of LINKS (Dialogue, Analysis and Research), Dennis Sammut spoke to 1news.az about the chances of war and peace in Karabakh. We publish the full text of the interview.

The five-day war sent shockwaves across the region and the world

"Cautious optimism is an essential quality for a peace-builder!"