The unprecedented escalation of violence, in April 2016, on the Line of Contact in the breakaway region of Karabakh had, in part, kick-started a new round of military preparations between Armenia and Azerbaijan (see EDM, April 6, May 5, 2016). But as bloody incidents along... MORE

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, at the G20 summit, held in Hamburg, Germany, on July 8. Their conversation during the meeting encompassed two main themes: First, the two leaders discussed issues related to the economy, military and... MORE

The Georgian coastal city of Batumi hosted, on May 23, a trilateral meeting of the defense ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia (Azertac, May 23). This trilateral cooperation format was inaugurated in 2012, during a ministerial meeting in Trabzon, Turkey. As expected, a new military... MORE

“I do not know whom we should ask: [magicians David] Copperfield or [Zurab] Vadachkoria? How can it happen that a person disappears from point A and appears at point B?” wondered Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili, on June 2, in response to reports about the puzzling... MORE

Since Moscow’s military intervention in the Syrian civil war began in September 2015, a key element of Russian logistical support for its forces has been a maritime supply route deployed from southern Russian Black Sea ports via the Turkish Straits to Syria. This supply train,... MORE

In recent weeks, the already complicated politics around the Iraqi city of Kirkuk have been further inflamed by the decision of Kirkuk Governor Najmaddin Karim to raise the flag of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over government buildings in the city (Rudaw, March 28). The... MORE

On April 25, the Turkish Air Force carried out strikes on the town of Sinjar (Iraqi Kurdistan) and on targets in the Karachok Mountains (northeastern Syria, between the towns of al-Hasakah and Qamishli) (Hürriyet, April 25). The airstrikes on Kurdish forces highlight Turkey’s determined stance... MORE

While operating in Black Sea waters near the mouth of the Bosporus, on April 27, the Russian naval reconnaissance vessel Liman sank after colliding with the Youzarsif, a Togo-flagged livestock freighter. The incident did tremendous damage to Russia’s self-promoted image as a global sea power,... MORE

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s official visit to Iran in early March 2017—his third in three years—was scheduled to include the testing of a section of a new railway along the Iran-Azerbaijan border. The Astara (Iran)–Astara (Azerbaijan) railroad is part of the North–South Transport Corridor (NSTC),... MORE