Conflict and Peace

There has been widespread international condemnation of a drone attack on Abu Dhabi International Airport. The Yemeni Houthi Group, which is backed by Iran, has claimed responsibility for the attack which killed three persons. The attack on the airport of the UAE capital is seen as a serious escalation of the ongoing conflict in Yemen where a regional coalition including Saudi Arabia and the UAE is assisting the internationally recognised government of Yemen in its efforts to regain control of the country from the Houthi movement which seized the capital and large swats of the country in 2015.

"We need time to understand better what happened in Kazakhstan, and why", writes Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed. Whilst sending CSTO troops to Kazakhstan was clearly President Putin's decision to support President Tokayev in the internal fight between Kazakh local elites, the deployment has implications also for other countries participating in the mission, including Armenia.

Dozens of people were killed in protests in Kazakhstan's largest metropolis, Almaty during the night from Wednesday to Thursday (6 January), according to local police. On Thursday, Russia sent airborne forces to Kazakhstan as part of a "peacekeeping force". According to Moscow, they will be used to guard important buildings and sites, among other things. The Kremlin has not said how many troops have been deployed.

The Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States - China, France, Russia, US and UK - have issued a joint statement, "On Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races".

“The EU has a profound interest in the security, stability and prosperity of the South Caucasus region as an integral part of the EU Eastern Partnership”. This was stated by the Head of the Cabinet of the European Council president, Charles Michel, in a letter to the three co-rapporteurs of ‘the Joint Liaison Group on confidence building measures in support of lasting peace in the South Caucasus’