Latest Articles about Foreign Policy

Baku Pushes New Azerbaijan-Iran-Turkey-Georgia Grouping to Enhance Intra-Regional Cooperation
On March 15, Baku hosted the first official ministerial meeting of a new quadrilateral regional format, encompassing Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran and Georgia (Trend, March 15). The new grouping was conceived to enhance cooperation among the four neighboring states, particularly in the security sphere. Until now,... MORE

Georgian Government Insists on Direct Talk With Moscow-Backed Separatists
On March 9, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili appealed to the government of Russia to take “reasonable, at least minimal steps, for bringing [Georgian-Russian] relations out of [their] vicious cycle.” Moreover, he once again reiterated Tbilisi’s readiness to engage Abkhazian and Ossetian separatists in direct... MORE

The Belt and Road Initiative: Is China Putting Its Money Where its Mouth Is?
Five years after it entered discussions surrounding China’s foreign policy, the Belt and Road Initiative remains a subject of political priority and public attention. Beijing has recently made a habit of attempting to persuade visiting heads of state to offer formal endorsement of the initiative,... MORE

Armenia Annuls Zurich Protocols With Turkey, but Hopes for New Engagement
On March 1, Armenia’s National Security Council officially scrapped the Zürich Protocols, signed with Turkey on October 10, 2009, under the internationally mediated normalization and reconciliation process also known as “soccer diplomacy” (1in.am, March 1). Covertly launched in mid-2007 but intensified and made public since... MORE

Kazakhstan and Tajikistan Renew Joint Efforts to Curb Islamic Extremism
During the March 14 Astana summit of the leaders of all five Central Asian states (see EDM, March 20, 21), the minister of religious affairs and civil society of Kazakhstan, Nurlan Yermekbayev, and the chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee of the government of Tajikistan,... MORE

Putin Wins a Landslide Reelection, Helped by His Standoff With the West
President Vladimir Putin was reelected in a landslide on March 18, winning over 76 percent of the popular vote. With turnout of more than 67 percent, Putin obtained over 56 million votes—more than half of the overall number of registered voters (Interfax, March 19). Of... MORE

Central Asian Reset
According to President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, 2011 was the last time the leadership of the five Central Asian countries all sat together at the same table to discuss regional issues (Tengrinews, March 15). On March 15, 2018, Nazarbayev, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, President... MORE

Central Asia Ready to Move on Without Russia
Since becoming independent in 1991, the countries of Central Asia, both individually and collectively, have been viewed by many outsiders and even some of their own people as the inevitable objects of politics rather than as potential subjects. The region is widely considered one of... MORE

Skripal Chemical Poisoning Case Throws Spotlight on Growing Russian LNG Supplies to UK
Prime Minister Theresa May issued a statement, on March 14, that the United Kingdom was evaluating other natural gas import options to decrease her country’s dependence on gas imports from Russia. The UK prime minister’s assurance came as a response to a comment made by... MORE

Putin’s Fake Victory Is Boring, but His New Term Will Be Anything But
No surprises happened in Russia on Sunday, March 18, in the carefully orchestrated voting procedure generously described by the media as a “presidential elections.” But many questions loom over the beginning of the new term that Vladimir Putin claimed. His “campaigning” gained some momentum in... MORE