Diplomacy

NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, warned that the buildup of Russian military forces and equipment along the Ukrainian border is continuing and that Russia has failed to respond to international appeals and pressure for de-escalation in recent weeks. Stoltenberg was speaking after an extraordinary virtual meeting with all NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held on Friday, 7 January.

Israeli leaders appear to have recently softened their position as regards a nuclear deal with Iran, saying they would not oppose "a good deal". Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, said that Israel would have no problem with a strong nuclear deal with Iran on condition that the deal permanently limits Iran’s ability to assemble a nuclear weapon.

As an uneasy calm returns to Kazakhstan, it seems that once again, the only beneficiary from another crisis in the post-Soviet space has been Russian President Vladimir Putin, writes Maximiliaan van Lange in this op-ed for commonspace.eu. Putin’s decision to quickly deploy airborne troops as part of a "peacekeeping force" to support the Kazakh regime in controlling the turmoil surprised even some Russian commentators who have called it inappropriate. But by its actions, Moscow is sending a message that it will not tolerate turmoil in former Soviet states. With this step, Russia has considerably strengthened its position in Kazakhstan and nips in the bud the risk of a domino effect in Central Asia

In an interview with the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, Georgia's Ambassador to Turkey, George Janjgava. said on Monday (3 January) that his country will not participate in the next 3+3 Caucasus platform meeting to be held in Turkey.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday (27 December) that the first meeting of Turkish and Armenian special envoys is expected to be held in Moscow to discuss the way forward in the normalization of relations between the two countries Speaking in a televised press conference, the top Turkish diplomat noted that the meeting's location was in accordance with Armenia's request.

“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’

The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, in a statement on Wednesday (22 December), said Russia's actions in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus have created new threats and fears of invasion, and that Europe was today under threat. Borrell's statement was in response to Russia's recent attempts to re-define Europe's security architecture. On Wednesday, Borrell also discussed the situation with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.