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"Georgia is a core country of the South Caucasus. It is not possible to visualise the region without Georgia."
30 October 2025
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2nd South Caucasus Dialogue Forum held successfully in Tbilisi. Next forum will be held in Yerevan and after that in Baku
30 October 2025
The 2nd South Caucasus Dialogue Forum was successfully held in the Georgian Capital, Tbilisi, on Tuesday, 28 October 2025, with the participation of over seventy experts, activists, diplomats and journalists from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and from a dozen European countries and organisations.
The forum is an initiative of LINKS Europe, working with partners across the South Caucasus.
This year's forum was special because of the participation of around forty Armenian and Azerbaijanis members of the Thematic Groups for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. The 2nd South Caucasus Dialogue Forum provided for a very thorough and interesting discussion of current developments in the region. In the Forum the Armenian and Azerbaijani members were also joined by Georgian participants, as well as representatives of the EUSR Office, EUMA and Ambassadors and diplomats from around ten European countries.
Also actively participating were the members of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Strategic Platform.
During the Forum it was announced that the 3rd Forum will be held in Yerevan in 2026, whilst the 4th Forum will be held in Baku is 2027, accompanying the process and meetings of the European Political Community, which are also expected to be held in the two countries in 2026/7. It was also announced that the members of the Strategic Expert Platform, working under the auspices of LINKS Europe (Dr Dennis Sammut, Chair, Dr Anar Veliyev, Mr Ramazan Samadov and Mr Mehman Aliyev (members Azerbaijan); Mr Stepan Grigoryan, Mr Benyamin Poghosyan and Mr Johnny Melikyan, members Armenia;) shall form the Political Preparatory Committee for the two events.
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EU to integrate financial contributions to Ukraine into its 2023 budget
4 October 2022
On Tuesday (4 October), the European Union announced that it will integrate financial support to Ukraine into its 2023 budget, making its monetary contributions more structured and predictable, thus easing the economic pressures on war-torn Ukraine.
The support payments will tighten the links between the EU and Ukraine, which got one step closer to achieving full EU membership after being granted candidate status earlier this year.
The decision to formalise the financial support was taken after criticism from the United States and others, who have accused the EU of delaying current support payments, and thereby raising doubts on how committed the EU is to Ukraine’s reconstruction after the war’s conclusion.
Out of the €9 billion promised in May this year, only €1 billion has so far been paid out, while the next payment of €5 billion is expected to reach Kyiv before the end of the year. Meanwhile, the United States has contributed over €10 billion in financial support, and over €25 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in late February.
Financially, Ukraine is struggling significantly as a result of the ongoing war with Russia. Reports estimate that monthly foreign aid of approximately €5 billion is required for the Ukrainian economy to stay afloat.
Oleg Ustenko, the economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, predicts that Ukraine’s deficit will shrink in the coming year to approximately €3.5 billion per month, as Ukraine has managed to resume initially disrupted economic activities in its western regions.
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CICA set to become an international organisation at this month's Astana summit
1 October 2022
The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is set to become a fully fledged international organisation during a summit of leaders of its members to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan on 12-13 October.
A Special Working Group (SWG) meeting held on 28-29 September, has made a major advance in preparing draft documents to be adopted at the upcoming sixth CICA Summit.
The main document includes a draft Astana Statement on CICA Transformation, which is designed to transform CICA into a full-fledged international organization. Other draft documents include a draft of the CICA Leaders’ Statement on Cooperation in the Field of Security and in the Use of Information and Communications Technologies and draft the CICA Plan of Action on the Implementation of the United Nations (UN) Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
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Macron hosts Pashinyan at the Elysee to discuss situation in the South Caucasus
27 September 2022
French president. Emanuel Macron on Monday (26 September) hosted Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Elysee Palace to discuss the current situation in the South Caucasus, and particularly Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.
Macron described the situation following the recent armned clashes on 13-14 September as "critical". President Macron said France will do everything to pursue its goal, which is a stable, safe and prosperous South Caucasus."
Macron also discussed the issue of relations between Armenia and Turkey. "This is a difficult but very necessary process and you know that France is also committed to this issue. This process is very important for the region", he said.
In conclusion, Macron reiterated France's commitment to achieving peace and stability for Armenia and the entire region. "I welcome your sense of responsibility and your position to do everything to establish peace. I want your country to have calm and peaceful borders", Macron told Pashinyan in his opening remarks.
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Germany seals major energy deal with the UAE
26 September 2022
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Germany signed a "landmark agreement" on Sunday (25 September) aimed at accelerating joint efforts to boost energy security, decarbonisation and combat climate change.
The major deal was struck in the presence of UAE President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is currently visiting the Emirates. The deal secures the delivery of 137,000 cubic meters of LNG to be sent to the new LNG terminal in Brunsbüttel near Hamburg in December.
According to the dpa news agency, the amount included in the first delivery equates to around 0.95 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. However, the LNG deal can only make up for a small part of the 56.3 billion cubic meters of gas that Germany received from Russia in 2020.
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Opinion: Macron's 'European Political Community' offers an opportunity for a continent-wide approach to critical security issues
24 September 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to create a "European Political Community" can, if handled correctly, provide a permanent framework where EU countries and other European states can interact on critical political and security issues. However, for the community to succeed it must not simply become an extension of the EU. It must be designed to ensure that all countries involved have a voice in fostering political dialogue and cooperation in order to address issues of common interest, writes Maximiliaan van Lange in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. Overall the idea of a European Political Community is a positive one. Ensuring that countries like Türkiye and the UK can be equal partners in the discussion on the future of Europe's security, is an important and positive step. Making sure that smaller countries in the Balkans and the Caucasus can also be part of the conversation is equally relevant. But for the Community to succeed it must quickly carve a niche for itself in the crowded field of European institutions, which apart from NATO and the EU, also includes the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the Western European Union, not to mention multiple sub regional entities. The best option for the new community is to focus on security, and the security threats poised by the new Russian and Chinese assertivness.