Author: Ani Narcessian

Armenia and Azerbaijan have succeeded in removing one major obstacle, but large potholes remain on the road to a durable peace deal between the longtime enemies. The Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed in early August that Azerbaijani officials had agreed to drop a provision from a draft peace agreement that would give Baku a land corridor connecting the Nakhchivan exclave to Azerbaijan proper. The matter of extraterritorial rights for Azerbaijan concerning what is known as the Zangezur corridor had been a sticking point in ongoing peace negotiations. The news that Baku was dropping the Zangezur provision was first reported by RFE/RL. Azerbaijani officials have stated the issue could…

Paris/Jakarta (24/7 – 28.57). “Coffee is the common man’s gold, and like gold, it brings to every person the feeling of luxury and nobility.” – Sheik-Abd-al-Kadir A friend recently opened a coffee shop is called after its owner, Muteeya. Though modest, it embodies the burgeoning coffee culture found in Paris, London, the US, and now Jakarta. The coffee is steaming hot, and soft tunes fill the air. Outside, rain pounds against the window, streaking down and forming small puddles on the street. As I gaze through the glass blurred by water, I take a sip of my warm coffee,…

YEREVAN — Armenia said on May 8 that it has stopped making financial contributions to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) after effectively suspending its membership in the Russian-led military alliance. “Armenia will refrain from signing up to the November 23, 2023, decision on the CSTO budget for 2024 and, thereby, from participating in the financing of the organization’s activities,” Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ani Badalian told several media outlets, including Armenia’s Public Television. At the same time, Badalian said Yerevan will not block other member states, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, from doing so. For more than a year, Armenia…

In a speech in Moscow in 2016, Henry Kissinger, the former national security adviser and Secretary of State of the United States, said Ukraine should serve “as a bridge between Russia and the West, rather than as an outpost of either side.” In a similar vein, the Ukrainian leaders prior to the collapse of the balance between the two geopolitical poles argued that “Ukraine should make use of its geopolitical advantages and become a bridge between Russia and the West. We should not be forced to make the false choice between the benefits of the East and those of the West… There is no…

Brussels (50). Two years in the war of Russian aggression against the Ukraine the balance is grim. Let us take stock. Leadership. The EU model of command and control consist of an old grumpy old general, an Austrian, who nobody has heard before, taking a political control of a pretty large army based of a defeatist model. The question to pose is the General who often is compared with Franz Josef I. suitable for modern command? The likely answer is no. The European play wars. The Europeans appear to be out of the fight. NATO command is in contradiction with…

Despite their bloody history and repeated recent disappointments, a long-term accommodation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is within reach. Recent hopes that a peace agreement between the South Caucasus nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan could be achieved have come to nothing. In late 2023, some believed such a historic step was just around the corner following Azerbaijan’s full seizure of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, but nothing materialized. At the same time, the outlines of a possible treaty are emerging, along with an understanding of what it would require from the two parties. Claims that a landmark treaty between Armenia and…

Issues of development of transport and transit were discussed in Dushanbe, DKNews.kz reports. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Tajikistan Valikhan Turekhanov met with the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan Azim Ibrokhim. During the meeting, issues of intensifying cooperation between the two countries in the field of transport and transit were discussed, incl. as part of the implementation of instructions from the Heads of State following the state visit of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to the Republic of Kazakhstan on May 3-4, 2023. The parties noted with satisfaction the progressive increase in the volume of…

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) believes Russia is fueling tensions in the Balkans, according to spokesman Andriy Yusov on Nov. 18. “We understand that in the Balkans, they traditionally have broad opportunities, both in terms of Russian special services and Russian propaganda and financial influence. And, of course, they use it, simultaneously addressing a whole range of tasks,” said Yusov. Russia hopes to divert attention from the war against Ukraine and pursue hostile action against Kyiv’s allies, including NATO countries and the European Union, Yusov said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has echoed these concerns, confirming Russia’s plans to instigate conflict in the…

Azerbaijan’s Territorial Ambitions Extend Beyond Nagorno-Karabakh In late September, one of the most shocking human upheavals since the century began took place in the former Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, a small, hilly patch of territory nestled within Azerbaijan. After three decades of tensions and conflict, it took just one day in September for Azerbaijan to seize the disputed enclave. Armenia stood largely on the sidelines, not strong enough to intervene, causing Nagorno-Karabakh’s population of some 120,000 ethnic Armenians to flee en masse in one of the starkest examples of forced displacement in the twenty-first century. And yet international attention soon…

A Wales fan has said he was fearful for his life after being held at gunpoint by police in Armenia. Gerwyn Williams, 35, from Penygroes in Gwynedd, said he was arrested “for no reason at all” by police on Friday. Mr Williams then said he was detained for 12 hours without any food or water, and was so afraid he flew home before Wales’ European qualifier on Saturday night. The Armenian Embassy has been asked for comment. Mr Williams said he was arrested the night before Wales 1-1 draw with Armenia while walking home with some friends. “I crossed the…