Diplomacy

In July, Lithuania declared a state of emergency due to the sudden increased influx of migrants from Belarus. According to Lithuanian politicians, the number of flights between Belarus and Afghanistan has increased as part of a strategy to push more migrants towards Lithuania.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres named Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg as his new Yemen envoy on Friday (6 August).  Grundberg is the fourth UN envoy since the beginning of the civil war in Yemen

Whilst the EU is seen as a valuable partner for Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus, Baku has several concerns over perceived inconsistencies. In this op-ed for commonspace.eu, Vasif Huseynov says Azerbaijan welcomes Brussels playing a more active role in the region but argues that it must maintain balance in its relations with each of the countries.

Several challenges sour the path of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the JCPOA countries. The last round of talks in Vienna concluded on 20 June with all draft deals rejected. Chief US negotiator Robert Maley said that "there is a real risk that they [Iran] are making unrealistic demands about what they can achieve in these talks." 

Azerbaijan has issued a diplomatic demarche to Russia following an outburst of criticism by Russian maverick politician, Vladimir Zhirinovski. The Russian Charge' d'affairs in Baku was summoned to the foreign ministry on Sunday morning and handed a protest note following comments made on air by Zhirinovski during an interview on July 30 on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station.

In preparation for its Eastern Partnership Summit (EaP) in December, and after drastic regional shifts, the EU is trying hard to improve its position in the South Caucasus. In this commentary for commonspace.eu, Mahammad Mammadov unpacks the EU's strategy in Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, looking at what can be gleaned from its recent high-profile visits to the region and billions in newly declared financial assistance.

The recent battle that erupted in Al-Baydah, centre of Yemen, has simmered like its counterpart in Marib. Groups and formations fighting the Houthis on the battlefront failed to garner sufficient support to withhold the recent gains by the legitimate government of Yemen allowing the Houthis to recapture some of the areas lost by them in the past few weeks. 

Thousands of Ethiopians gathered at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa as the government announced the completion of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). While Egypt is relieved by the quick ending of the filling, joined by Sudan, it still calls to reach a final trilateral agreement with Ethiopia on the operation of the dam.