Is Aliyev sincere in his peace plans? By Yeghia TASHJIAN, Beirut-based regional analyst and researcher, columnist, "The Armenian Weekly”
On January 10, 2024, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev gave a 2.5-hour interview with local TV channels. In his interview, Aliyev not only repeated false remarks and justified the ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Artsakh but also threatened Armenia. When it comes to delimiting and demarcating the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, he rejected the old Soviet maps proposed by Armenia, arguing, “In the 20th century, the lands of Azerbaijan were given to Armenia in parts. One day after the establishment of the Azerbaijan People’s Republic in 1918, the ancient Azerbaijani city of Erevan was handed over to Armenia. After the Sovietization in April 1920, in November, the Soviet government took the bigger part of Western Zangezur from Azerbaijan and handed it over to Armenia. By May 1969, Azerbaijani lands were given to Armenia in parts, and from an area of about 100,000 square kilometres, it dropped to 86,600 square kilometres.”
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 06.02.2024
| External Relations
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Assessment of poverty indicators in the Republic of Uzbekistan by the end of 2023
The CERR jointly with the Statistics Agency, assessed the level of monetary poverty in Uzbekistan. By the end of 2023, poverty in the country decreased by 3.1 percentage points. The experts explained how the poverty profile has changed and in which regions the incomes of the population have shown the greatest growth.
According to the results of the assessment of the Statistics Agency under the President of Uzbekistan, by the end of 2023, the poverty level in Uzbekistan has decreased to 11.0%.
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 06.02.2024
| Security
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Two years of war in Ukraine: What should the South Caucasus expect now? By Benyamin POGHOSYAN, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies
In just one month, the world will mark the second anniversary of the Russian-Ukrainian war. During this period, assessments on the course and possible outcomes of the war underwent significant changes several times. At the end of February 2022, almost everyone was sure that the war would end very quickly with Russia’s victory, bringing a change of government in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelensky replaced by a pro-Russian figure. Already in September 2022, after successful Ukrainian counter-offensives in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions, expectations changed dramatically. This time, many were sure of Russia’s imminent defeat.
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 30.01.2024
| External Relations
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Armenia and Azerbaijan Address Concerns Over Territorial Integrity By Vasif HUSEYNOV, PhD, Head of Department, AIR Center, Adjunct Lecturer, ADA and Khazar Universities, Baku
On January 19, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called for a new constitution in a meeting with senior officials from the Armenian Ministry of Justice. Pashinyan asserted that Armenia needs “a new constitution, not constitutional changes,” adding that the new foundational document would make the country “more competitive and viable in the new geopolitical and regional environment” (Azatutyun.am, January 19). He highlighted that the new constitution would maintain the present parliamentary system and underscored “external security” and “internationally recognized sovereign territory” as the main issues to be addressed. Mutual respect for one another’s territorial integrity remains a sticking point in peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. If Yerevan proceeds with Pashinyan’s proposal, the new constitution will eliminate certain hurdles to signing a peace treaty with Baku.
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 30.01.2024
| Security
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The Emerging Azerbaijan-Gulf Partnership in Energy
By Fuad Shahbazov, Baku-based independent regional security and defence analyst
On January 8, Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ), the leader of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), paid an official visit to Azerbaijan upon the invitation of his counterpart, President Ilham Aliyev. While MBZ’s visit to Baku signaled an era of deepening economic and energy ties between Azerbaijan and the UAE, it also reflected significant progress made in recent years. Indeed, the bilateral relationship has seen a raft of new projects and investments, particularly in the renewable energy sector. Notably, according to 2022 data, the Gulf countries are now among Azerbaijan’s top investment partners, though reciprocal investment remains low, compared to Azerbaijan’s other partners. READ MORE
- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 30.01.2024
| Markets
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Baku wants an agreement with Armenia without mediators By Vasif HUSEYNOV, PhD, Head of Department, AIR Center, Adjunct Lecturer, ADA and Khazar Universities, Baku
On January 8, US Senior Adviser on Caucasus Negotiations Louis Bono visited Yerevan, engaging in discussions with local officials regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process. The Armenian side reported that one of the issues discussed during this visit was the organization of a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Washington. Unlike his previous visits to the region, this trip omitted a visit to Baku, suggesting that it either wasn’t planned, which is unlikely, or that the Azerbaijani side was not open to receiving him. Recent developments between Baku and Yerevan, along with the evolving dynamics of mediator involvement, indicate that Azerbaijan has grown more cautious and sceptical about the role of third parties in the Armenia-Azerbaijan process. As a result, Azerbaijan has advocated for bilateral meetings between the two countries. Baku’s position is primarily related with the potential geopolitical fallout of the upcoming peace deal with Yerevan.
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 23.01.2024
| Security
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What Next in Armenia – Azerbaijan Negotiations By Benyamin POGHOSYAN, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies
In the late months of 2022 and 2023 there were intensive discussions about the possible signature of the Armenia – Azerbaijan peace agreement. Both international mediators and facilitators, as well as representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan were making statements that a peace agreement signature is within reach. As we enter 2024, discussions are underway about the potential signature of the Armenia – Azerbaijan agreement in 2024. The December 7, 2023, bilateral statement on the release of Prisoners of War and Armenia’s support of the Azerbaijani bid to host the COP29 in Baku gave more impetus to these hopes. Some believe that the military takeover of Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijan in September 2023 made this perspective more realistic, especially as the Armenian government agreed not to include anything on Nagorno Karabakh in the peace agreement.
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 23.01.2024
| Security
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Ensuring women's rights is an integral part of the State gender policy in Uzbekistan Mahinora Mirkhamidova, associate professor of the department International law and Public law disciplines of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy
Today over two-thirds of the world's countries are participants in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted in 1979. Ensuring women's rights is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, goal 5 specifically aims at “Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.” The issues of ensuring women's rights are reflected in the constitutions of almost all countries, entrenched in their legislation, and hold a significant place in national development plans and strategies.
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 16.01.2024
| Security
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Armenia must avoid becoming entangled in the ‘Russia vs West, democracy vs authoritarianism’ dilemma By Benyamin POGHOSYAN, PhD, Chairman, Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies
The year 2023 marked a challenging period for Armenian-Russian relations, likely the most strenuous since Armenia gained independence. Following the 2020 Karabakh war and Azerbaijan’s incursions into Armenia’s sovereign territory, the relationship between Armenia and Russia has experienced a notable decline. Armenia openly expresses dissatisfaction with Russia’s and the CSTO’s positions, contending that Russia has not fulfilled its alliance obligations. Simultaneously, Russia harbours suspicions about Armenia’s efforts to foster relations with the European Union and the United States, perceiving a gradual geopolitical distancing.
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 10.01.2024
| External Relations
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Proprietary rights will be guaranteed in Uzbekistan Avazbek Kholbekov, expert of the Development Strategy Center
Over the past five years in Uzbekistan, a number of laws have been adopted in our country to ensure the priority of private property and strengthen its legal protection.
Most importantly, based on the principle of "From Action Strategy to Development Strategy" there was adopted the "Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026", as a logical continuation of Action Strategy. In the document, turning the principles of justice and the rule of law into the most basic and necessary condition for development in the country was defined as one of the most important directions. Several necessary objectives were envisaged for this.
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- EGF Editor |
Published on EGF: 08.01.2024
| Security
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