Latest Articles about South Caucasus
Significant Economic Reliance on Russia Stunts Armenia’s Integration With West
On December 11, during the EU Eastern Partnership ministerial meeting, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan welcomed the European Council’s decision to grant candidate status to Georgia and initiate membership talks with Moldova and Ukraine. Mirzoyan emphasized that Yerevan is aligned with the idea of closer... MORE
Some Neighbors Look at Georgia’s Europeanization With Hope, Others With Suspicion
On December 14, 2023, the European Union granted official candidate status to Georgia (Twitter.com/CharlesMichel,December 14, 2023; European Commission, accessed January 2). The decision will presumably have a significant impact on the geopolitics of the South Caucasus. Inspired by Brussels’ pronouncement, Georgia intends to overtake Ukraine... MORE
Yerevan’s Resettlement of Armenian Refugees in Zangezur Creates New Flashpoint
Yerevan is seeking to resettle some of the more than 100,000 Armenians who fled Karabakh following the restoration of Azerbaijani control there to Armenia’s Syunik Oblast, according to Yevgeny Mikhailov, a Russian specialist on international conflicts (Svpressa.ru, December 10). The region, sandwiched between Azerbaijan proper... MORE
Armenia and Azerbaijan Conclude the Year With Hopeful Prospects for Peace
On December 13, Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged prisoners that each side had detained at different times since the end of the Second Karabakh War in November 2020 (Turan.az, December 13). This historic exchange was made possible thanks to a significant breakthrough between the two countries... MORE
Russian ‘Elves’ in Georgia Fight Against Putin
On November 20, Radio Tavisupleba, the Georgian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, published an article about Russian citizens’ activism in Georgia in fighting against the Vladimir Putin regime and its invasion of Ukraine. According to the outlet, about 200 “elves” write hundreds of posts... MORE
Russia Playing Cat-and-Mouse With OSCE (Part Two)
Russia forced what it calls “the collective West” into significant concessions for this year’s Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) annual meeting of foreign ministers. Using its statutory veto and blocking powers, Moscow forced the organization to replace Estonia with Malta to chair... MORE
Armenia and Azerbaijan Discussing a Swap of Exclaves
On November 28, Alen Simonyan, head of Armenia’s National Assembly, told journalists that “the ball is in Azerbaijan’s court” regarding peace negotiations between the two countries. He added, “Armenia fully supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. … If desired, the peace agreement can be signed... MORE
Strained Relations Between Azerbaijan and the West
On November 16, Baku canceled a meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan scheduled to take place on November 20 in Washington (Apa.az, November 16). The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry asserted that, under the current circumstances, it is not possible to proceed with US-mediated... MORE
Russia’s Restoration of Sukhumi Airport May Lead to Full Annexation of Abkhazia
On October 27, the Moscow-backed separatist government in Abkhazia signed a public-private partnership agreement with the recently established Russian company Infrastructure Development to restore operations at the Babushera airport near the Abkhazian capital of Sukhumi. Rashid Nurgaliyev Jr., the son of the current deputy secretary... MORE
Caspian Sea Drying Up, Forcing Coastal Countries to Respond
The Caspian Sea is in danger of drying up. On June 7, government officials in the coastal city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, released a statement declaring a natural state of emergency for the maritime industry due to the sea’s low water levels (Facebook.com/Aktau_Press, June 7; Eurasianet,... MORE