Turkey will clear northeast Syria of Kurdish YPG militia if Russia does not fulfill its obligations under an accord that helped end a Turkish offensive in the region, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

• October 30, 2019

By Ahmad Alili, Head of Research, Caucasus Policy Analysis Center, Baku

At the dawn of the unipolar international system – following the collapse of the Communist system in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus – “the end of history” was announced. It was expected that the benevolent hegemony of the United States would last for many decades to come – liberal values and democracy would be spread to each corner of the world. The events of recent years and the chaos in the international order shows that the world is transforming from a unipolar world into a multipolar one. This transformation process has its reverberations in regions such as the South Caucasus. READ MORE

• October 16, 2019

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin discussed in a phone call Turkey’s planned operation into northeastern Syria, the Turkish presidency said on Wednesday, as Ankara gears to launch its cross-border offensive.

• October 9, 2019

French and German attempts to end the conflict in east Ukraine risk increasing tensions that were already rising in the European Union over how to handle Russia and which could complicate peace efforts.

• October 7, 2019

It is too early for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to discuss deeper oil output cuts despite the decline in oil prices, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo was quoted as saying by Russian news agency TASS on Monday.

• October 7, 2019

French and German attempts to end the conflict in east Ukraine risk increasing tensions that were already rising in the European Union over how to handle Russia and which could complicate peace efforts.

• October 7, 2019

By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia

The relations (or the lack thereof) between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and European Union (EU) are one of the key topics of debate between international relations pundits. There are different assessments regarding the current situation and the way forward. However, almost all experts agree that the key issue here resides in the relationship between Russia and the West (US/EU/NATO). As long as this relationship is at its lowest point since the end of the Cold War, there is almost no chance of any substantial cooperation between these two organizations. READ MORE

• October 7, 2019

By Eduard Abrahamyan, Senior Fellow with the London-based Institute for Statecraft

Armenia’s 2018 Velvet Revolution raised hopes for a reinvigoration of the country’s decades-long partnership with the U.S. However, this relationship remains stagnant, despite the visit of a U.S. delegation led by National Security Advisor John Bolton in October 2018 and the subsequent visit of Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent to Yerevan in May 2019, resulting in the formal elevation of Armenia’s relations with the U.S. to the level of “strategic dialogue.” Moreover, Yerevan’s decision to dispatch a military-humanitarian mission to Syria remains an irritant in its interaction with Washington. READ MORE

• October 7, 2019