Diplomacy

The President of Armenia will make an official visit to Kazakhstan on Tuesday (15 October) to discuss further strengthening of Kazakh-Armenian cooperation with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The two leaders will discuss cooperation in various political and economic areas, such as trade and migration, as well as enhancing cultural and humanitarian exchanges. 

As this year's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku draws closer, negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to be drifting further apart. Despite hopes that the opposite would be true, a lack of clarity and confusion instead continues to reign. Does the draft Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations contain 17 points or 16? Initially, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had announced that consensus had been reached on 13 points while 3 were partially agreed and there was no agreement at all on a fourth. Since then, official statements and media in Armenia instead refers to 16 points though Yerevan has reportedly ditched the three incomplete articles to make only 13.

The European Union has decided to cancel €121 million in funds intended to support Georgia's economic development and its aspirations for EU membership. The decision was confirmed by the EU delegation in Georgia, which said that the growing repression of dissent was the reason for the withdrawal of financial assistance.

The Bonn Contact Group on Climate, Peace and Security ahead of COP29, held its final report presentation on 9 October at the Hertie School in Berlin, Germany. The meeting was attended by representatives of Berlin-based civil society organisations, policymakers, academics and international organisations. The meeting focused on three critical reports examining the intersections of climate change with water scarcity, land degradation and food insecurity. The event was organised by LINKS Europe in collaboration with the Restart Initiative and the Candid Foundation. 

On Tuesday (8 October), Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan agreed at the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to withdraw Russian border guards from the Armenian-Iranian frontier as of January 2025 and replace them with Armenian border guards. In addition, the Turkish border will be guarded by both Russian and Armenian guards.

The US Helsinki Commission on Tuesday (1 October) published an analysis of Russia's political and economic agenda. The document addresses, among other things, various developments in the South Caucasus. The region is experiencing various political shifts as Russia's material influence wanes due to its focus on its war with Ukraine. On the one hand. Armenia was once one of Russia's strongest allies. However, following the Nagorno Karabakh war in 2020, Armenia has moved away from Moscow and more towards a Western agenda. On the other hand, Azerbaijan has adopted a cooperative approach with Russia, especially given the similarities between the two countries' strong governmental grip.   

NATO's new Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv on Thursday (3 October). It is Rutte's first working trip since officially taking office earlier this week. Earlier, Rutte announced that Ukraine's NATO membership would be one of the spearheads of his policy.

Politburo member Nguyen Xuan Thang met the Azerbaijani ambassador in Hanoi on Tuesday (1 October). Thang said that this year marks a big anniversary in the relationship between Vietnam and Azerbaijan. It is the 65th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's visit to Baku. Thang reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment to strengthening its friendship and cooperation with traditional allies like Azerbaijan.