By Fuad Shahbazov, Baku-based independent regional security and defence analyst

President Erdogan’s initiative for a 3 + 3 regional co-operation format in the South Caucasus offers the possibility of opening up the region through an extensive network of land corridors. Not everyone has welcomed the initiative, but the prospect of turning a fragile region into a beacon of stability after a long period of instability and violence is a worthy aspiration.
The second Karabakh war has shifted the geopolitical and geo-economic realities in the South Caucasus region, particularly heightening the possibility of competition over the region’s transport corridors. The Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement signed on 10 November brings with it the possibility of opening a number of transit routes, which have been closed for almost 30 years. In the aftermath of the Armenian forces' devastating defeat in the 44-day war, the idea of regional co-operation becomes increasingly important. READ MORE

• March 31, 2021

President Joe Biden said on Thursday the United States remained open to diplomacy with North Korea despite its ballistic missile tests this week, but warned there would be responses if North Korea escalates matters.

• March 26, 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said he would prevent China from passing the United States to become the most powerful country in the world, vowing to invest heavily to ensure America prevails in the race between the world’s two largest economies.

• March 26, 2021

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

Armenia appears heading for snap parliamentary elections on 20 June, but hopes that the poll may resolve the current gridlock in the Armenian political arena may be premature. For Armenia, things may get worse before they get better.
A tense political crisis has been ongoing in Armenia since immediately after the signing of the 10 November, 2020, trilateral statement on Nagorno Karabakh. That same night, angry protestors stormed the building of the Government and the Parliament, and the National Assembly's Speaker was physically attacked, resulting in him spending a month in the hospital. However, these actions did not lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He took refuge in a Ministry of Defence bunker for a week, and there was no organised opposition that could take power while the Prime Minister was absent from the political scene. READ MORE

• March 24, 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden “will be good for the relationship” between China and the United States, even though both sides might have “started a little on frosty side”, former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen told a Beijing forum.

• March 22, 2021

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed India’s planned purchase of Russia’s S400 air defence system at a meeting with his Indian counterpart on Saturday, reiterating U.S. allies should steer clear of Russian equipment to avoid sanctions.

• March 22, 2021

U.S. sanctions may not deter Russia from its alleged election meddling and cyber hacking in the short term but will signal Washington’s renewed willingness to hold the Kremlin publicly to account for acts it views as malign.

• March 22, 2021

By Eugene Kogan, Tbilisi-based defence and security expert

US-Turkey relations have a history of challenges in general but with the ascent of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2001, the challenges reached their peak with the failed coup of 15 July 2016 that Erdogan blamed on the US-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen.
By becoming the first elected executive President of Turkey, Erdoğan has also transformed Turkey from a secular, democratic and reliable Western allied regime guarding NATO’s South-Eastern flank to an Islamic, nationalist and autocratic regime. Erdoğan’s policy is undermining the foundation of US-Turkey relations. This article outlines three cases that highlight the undermining of this relationship: S-400 vs. F-35; Halkbank; the Turkish citizens working at the US Consulate General becoming targets of politically-motivated legal charges. READ MORE.

• March 17, 2021