Diplomacy

The Margara-Alican border bridge connecting Armenia and Turkey has been opened to allow five Armenian aid trucks to pass to the Turkish regions affected by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Monday (6 February). It is the first time the Turkey-Armenia border has been opened in 30 years. "Trucks with humanitarian aid have crossed the Margara bridge on the border and are on their way to the earthquake-stricken region," Vahan Hunanyan, a spokesperson for Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, wrote on Twitter. Serdar Kılıç, Ankara’s special envoy to Yerevan, hailed the arrival of the aid trucks, writing on Twitter that he "will always remember the generous aid sent by the people of Armenia to help alleviate the sufferings of our people in the earthquake-striken region in Türkiye." The bridge, which connects the village of Margara in Armenia with the village of Alican in Turkey, had been closed since 1993, when Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in protest at the First Karabakh War.

The first ever meeting of the Central Asian Interparliamentary Forum is taking place in the Kazakh city of Turkistan on Friday (10 February), which has resulted in the adoption of the landmark Turkistan Declaration. The forum, which brings together parliamentarians from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, is discussing the strengthening of comprehensive strategic cooperation among Central Asian states and the role of parliaments in this process.  More specifically, the forum is discussing topics including regional security, the development of joint infrastructure and logistics projects, transit and transport potential of the region, and alternative supply routes from Central Asia. Alongside discussing strategic cooperation, parliamentarians are also discussing expanding cultural and humanitarian cooperation based on a common historical and cultural heritage.

One day after addressing the UK Parliament in the Palace of Westminster in London, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday (9 February). Entering the hemicycle shortly after 11am local time, Zelensky was greeted by MEPs with a standing ovation. President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola opened proceedings with a short speech in which she praised Ukraine's courage in its fight for European values, which "binds all peoples across the continent as sisters and brothers." Referring to Ukraine's ongoing campaign to join the EU, about which some member states have a deal of scepticism and concern, Metsola called on EU leaders to ensure that Ukraine gets "the fastest possible accession process", coupled with funds for reconstruction and more heavy weapons to repel Russia's invasion, including "long-range systems and the jets". "Our response must be proportional to the threat and the threat is existential," Metsola said. Rounding off her introduction, she told Zelensky, "We have your back. We were with you then. We are with you now. We will be with you for as long as it takes. Freedom will prevail, peace will reign and you will win. Slava Ukraini!"

The violent attack against the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran on 27 January has strained tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran, sparking fears of further deterioration in relations between the two countries, writers Vasif Huseynov in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. Azerbaijan rejected Iran’s assertions that the attack was driven by personal motives and accuses Tehran of whipping up anti Azerbaijani hysteria. All this has brought the bilateral relations between the two countries to a new low. It cannot be excluded that things will deteriorate even further, given that Tehran does not seem ready to renounce its claims against Azerbaijan. This constitutes an alarming threat to regional peace and security for a variety of reasons. Above all, the current state of bilateral relations, and the propagation of anti-Azerbaijani sentiments by the Iranian media, create a precarious situation that could easily spiral into escalation with the slightest incident or provocation. All this has brought the bilateral relations between the two countries to a new low. It cannot be excluded that things will deteriorate even further, given that Tehran does not seem ready to renounce its claims against Azerbaijan. This constitutes an alarming threat to regional peace and security for a variety of reasons. Above all, the current state of bilateral relations, and the propagation of anti-Azerbaijani sentiments by the Iranian media, create a precarious situation that could easily spiral into escalation with the slightest incident or provocation.

Given the increasingly uncertain political climate in which Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson finds himself, Sweden requires an internal and external positional re-evaluation in order to finalise its accession to NATO, writes Alfred Stranne in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. Meanwhile, Sweden needs to understand the increasing anger coming from Ankara, which is severely hindering its progression towards becoming a member of the alliance. Meanwhile, Sweden must also look within NATO itself to seek support in reassuring Ankara that Sweden will be a significant security provider for the alliance, providing added benefits for Ankara as well. This would repair Sweden’s relations with Turkey and reassure Ankara that despite the ideological and religious differences between Kristersson and Erdogan, Sweden and Turkey have common interests in seeking regional peace and stability.

As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s re-invasion of Ukraine approaches, Ukrainian officials are expressing concerns of a new major offensive following a recent large-scale Russian mobilisation. This comes as Kyiv prepares to host EU officials on Friday (3 February) for a summit on the embattled counry's progress towards EU membership. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov estimates that Russia has mobilised up to 500,000 troops, despite official numbers claiming the mobilisation of 300,000 Russian troops. The estimates come after Ukrainian officials have announced high military activity on the Russian side of its border. Russia also celebrates its "Defender of the Fatherland Day" on 23 February, just one day before the one-year mark of the so-called "special military operation". 

Iran has summoned the Ukrainian chargé d'affairs in Tehran over comments made by a senior Ukrainian official about a suspected Israeli drone strike on an Iranian military facility late in Isfahan on Saturday (28 January). According to Iran's defence ministry, three drones were involved in the attack about 23:30 local time on Saturday night on what Iran's official Irna news agency called "an ammunition manufacturing plant". Some reports have suggested that the facility in question was connected to the production of missiles, however. The Iranian defence ministry said it had foiled the attack, with the facility suffering only "minor roof damage". The Jerusalem Post on the other hand reported on Sunday morning that the attack had been a "phenomenal success", citing Western and foreign intelligence sources. Although Israel has not publically claimed responsibility for the strike, The Wall Street Journal also claimed on Sunday morning that Israel and Mossad - the national intelligence agency of Israel - were behind it, citing US officials. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian criticised the drone attack as "cowardly" and aimed at creating "insecurity" in the country.