By Benyamin POGHOSYAN, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies

The 2020 Karabakh war has significantly impacted the regional dynamics in the South Caucasus. Experts and pundits have not come yet to a unified approach regarding the reasons and implications of the war. However, many agree that the primary beneficiaries of the war were Russia and Turkey. Kremlin has reached perhaps its main goal in Karabakh – to put Russian boots on the ground, while it has also significantly increased its military presence in Armenia. Turkey has cemented its presence in Azerbaijan as now a large part of Azerbaijani society believes that without Turkey’s overt support and involvement, Baku could not win the war. Turkey also is a part of the Joint Monitoring Centre operating in the Aghdam region of Azerbaijan, though Turkey hoped to have more military involvement in the post-war Karabakh. READ MORE

• September 3, 2021

The deadly attack on Kabul airport has underlined the realpolitik facing Western powers in Afghanistan: engaging with the Taliban may be their best chance to prevent the country sliding into a breeding ground for Islamist militancy.

• August 27, 2021

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett searched for common ground on Iran at their first White House meeting on Friday, even as the U.S. leader grappled with the aftermath of a deadly suicide bombing in Kabul during a chaotic U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan.

• August 27, 2021

Several Russian media outlets published joint appeals on Friday telling President Vladimir Putin to call off a crackdown on "foreign agent" media that they said is destroying independent journalism.

• August 27, 2021

Chinese and Russian leaders discussed Afghanistan on Wednesday, Chinese state media said, but did not echo the G7's call for the Taliban to allow people to flee the country after Aug. 31, as desperate crowds left behind by the withdrawal of U.S. troops continue to fear for their safety.

• August 25, 2021

The government of Cyprus said on Monday it would revoke the passports of Turkish Cypriot officials in the breakaway state in the northern part of the island.

• August 23, 2021

More than 18,000 people have been flown out of Kabul since the Taliban took over Afghanistan's capital, a NATO official said on Friday, pledging to redouble evacuation efforts as criticism of the West's handling of the crisis intensified.

• August 20, 2021

A defiant President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday a Belarusian sprinter defected at the Olympic Games only because she had been "manipulated" by outside forces and shrugged off a coordinated barrage of new Western sanctions.

• August 9, 2021