
Latest Articles about South Caucasus

Will This Chechen Warlord be Forced out of Idlib? A Profile of Muslim Abu Walid al-Shishani
In June, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Organization for the Liberation of the Levant, or HTS) demanded that the Chechen warlord Muslim Shishani join their organization or leave Idlib, Syria. Reports of the demand emerged on June 27. A local news agency in its reporting referred to... MORE

Charles Michel Tries to Keep Georgia From Leaving the European Orbit
On July 29, Charles Michel, the president of the European Council (the main policy-setting body of the European Union), released a statement in response to the unexpected decision of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party to annul the accord of April 19, 2021 (Interpressnews, July... MORE

Will the EU Shake off Its Lethargy Over the Protracted Conflicts in the Black Sea Region? (Part Two)
*To read Part One, please click here. The European Union has yet to develop a policy regarding the protracted (“frozen”) conflicts in the wider Black Sea region. Russia is both a belligerent and an arbiter in these conflicts, negating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of... MORE

Will the EU Shake off Its Lethargy Over the Protracted Conflicts in the Black Sea Region? (Part One)
Romania’s minister of foreign affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, is spearheading an initiative within the European Union to involve the EU in the management and eventual resolution of the protracted conflicts in the wider Black Sea region. Ten other EU member states (Portugal, Sweden and eight Central-Eastern... MORE

Azerbaijan’s President Visits Moscow Amidst Uncertainties in Post-War Peace Process With Armenia
On July 20, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Moscow, upon the invitation of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin (President.az, July 20). This was the second working visit of the Azerbaijani head of state to Russia this year, following his earlier... MORE

Tensions Escalate Again in Armenian-Azerbaijani Relations
On July 15, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reported that Armenia’s Armed Forces had attacked positions of the Azerbaijani Army in the direction of the recently liberated Kalbajar region (Mod.gov.az, July 15). The attack, conducted “using small arms,” was met with retaliation by the... MORE

Russia, Turkey Compete to Entice Azerbaijan Into Their Geopolitical Plays
During the latest session of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), on July 1, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the participants effectively introduced the category of a CSTO “partner state” by setting the criteria and provisions for granting such a... MORE

Iran Drives Development of Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor
Back in 2016, Iran put forward a regional initiative to expand the Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor, which, in addition to the Islamic Republic itself, involves Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece. This multimodal corridor begins from the Gulf... MORE

Iranian-Azerbaijani Relations Under the New Raisi Administration
Despite a rapprochement of sorts in 2019 (see EDM, March 20, 2019), Iran’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan faced new strains and challenges during the final year of Hassan Rouhani’s presidency (set to end on August 3, 2021), especially following the outbreak of the... MORE

Russian Energy Companies Halt Oil Supplies to Naftan Refinery in Belarus Because of US Sanctions
On June 24, Russia’s state-owned oil transit system operator Transneft announced that hydrocarbon producers Rosneft and Surgutneftgaz had not reserved any pipeline volumes for transporting oil to the Belarusian refinery Naftan for the third quarter of 2021 (TASS, June 24). Transneft’s announcement did not come... MORE