By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia
In recent months, Turkey has been facing increasing difficulties with key NATO member states. The United States' growing reliance on Syrian Kurdish forces in Syria as a key force capable of effectively fighting Islamic State and US President Donald Trump's decision to arm Kurdish YPG units placed additional strains on bilateral US-Turkey relations, which have been sharply deteriorating since the July 2016 military coup and with Turkey's unsuccessful efforts to organize Fethullah Gulen's extradition from the US. READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 17.06.2017
| Security
By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia
Trump's hard line approach towards Iran may derail ambitious plans to develop North-South trade and transport corridors in the South Caucasus.
On May 20, 2017, US President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on his first stop of his week-long international trip. The new US President chose the Saudi visit as a focal point for presenting key pillars of his Middle East policy. Delivering a speech to the Arab - Islamic - American Summit, President Trump stressed the significance of the fight against terrorism and the important role regional states have to play in that struggle. Another key point of his speech was tough criticism directed against Iran. READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 07.06.2017
| External Relations
By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia
On 14-15 May 2017, 29 world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Erdogan, gathered in Beijing for the international forum of the "Belt and Road" initiative. The Forum was the biggest event since the launch of the 'One belt one Road' initiative put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. China invited countries and regions to jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road with at least five routes of economic cooperation. READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 22.05.2017
| External Relations
By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia
An Armenian general is now at the helm of the CSTO military alliance. This may prove to be a double edged sword for Armenia.
The South Caucasus is one of the battlefields in the current Russia-West confrontation. As a part of the former Soviet space, the region is perceived by Russia as an area of its legitimate "special interests." For the West, including the United States, NATO and the EU, the view of the region is defined by its role as a key transit route for Caspian energy resources to reach Europe circumventing Russia, and as an important gateway to exert influence in the nearby Middle East. Regional geopolitical competition is further complicated by the onset of Iran and Turkey. READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 08.05.2017
| Security
By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia
Russia and Iran for the moment have shared interest in containing western and Turkish influence in the South Caucasus. In the longer term, however, their relationship in the region is likely to become more competitive than cooperative. READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 21.04.2017
| External Relations
By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia
The perspectives of the US – Russia relations under the Trump Administration is one of the key foreign policy issues hotly debated in political and expert circles both in the US, Russia and elsewhere. The steep deterioration of bilateral relations since the start of the third Presidential term of Vladimir Putin brought back into the scene almost forgotten terminology of “Cold War”, “containment”, “great power rivalry”. READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 12.04.2017
| External Relations
By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia
On March 21, 2017 Armenia and the EU initialed a new bilateral Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. This is an important milestone in bilateral relations, especially taking into account Armenia's last minute withdrawal in 2013 from initialing its Association Agreement negotiated within the framework of the EU Eastern Partnership program. READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 12.04.2017
| External Relations
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Turkey is heading to restore relations with Damascus. "We will expand our circle of friends. We have already begun to do so. We normalized our relations with Israel and Russia, and now, I am sure, we will do the same with Syria. We need it to be done", - said Yildirim, speaking on Turkish television. READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 07.03.2017
| External Relations
by George Vlad Niculescu, Head of Research, the European Geopolitical Forum
How could the EU best deal with a revisionist Russia who challenged the post-Cold War European security order, most notably in Ukraine and in Georgia? We should probably start from considering EU’s current strategic options in its Eastern Neighbourhood. The key question here is what should be the EU’s objective in this contested region? Is it to find a compromise solution with Moscow on how to fix the broken security order? Or is it to defend its shared values in the Eastern Neighbourhood, and to eventually annihilate the Russian power and influence? READ MORE
EGF Editor |
Опубликовано на EGF: 06.03.2017
| External Relations
The mounting tension over Ukraine has introduced numerous dangers to the security situation in the South Caucasus. These negative ramifications are further exacerbated by the fact that Russia holds the key to resolving conflicts in the post-Soviet realm, especially in the absence of greater Western assertiveness. But Moscow and Brussels are caught up in geopolitical competition over the region. READ MORE
Elkhan Nuriyev |
Опубликовано на EGF: 16.01.2015
| External Relations
Dr. Marat Terterov, Co-founder of the EGF, and Dr. George Vlad Niculescu, Head of Research, contributed to a newly published volume on: “Building Resilience against Human Security Threats and Risks: From Best Practices to Strategies” The volume was produced by the National Defence Academy of Austria in collaboration with the PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes. It brought up multi-disciplinary arguments explaining how education fostered resilience by equipping people with the knowledge and skills to navigate risks and adapt to new challenges. This Handbook addressed risks and threats associated with climate change, energy, demographic, food, water, medical and financial security, human trafficking, cyber security, hybrid threats, psychological manipulation, violence in the digital domain, ethnic violence in unresolved conflicts, economic fragmentation, and trade disruptions in the South Caucasus and beyond. Regional cooperation is essential for building resilience against human security risks and threats, since effectively addressing many of them, including conflicts, environmental crises, pandemics, and transnational crime, require collective action that transcends national borders. READ MORE
EGF Affiliated Expert Yeghia TASHJIAN has recently co-authored a Policy Brief on “Lebanon’s Foreign Policy: Challenges and Recommendations”. The Brief called for a shift toward positive neutrality and pro-active diplomacy, with concrete reforms to strengthen Lebanon’s diplomatic role and global standing. The authors wondered in a conclusive way: “Can Lebanon reclaim its place on the international stage?” READ MORE
EGF Affiliated Expert Dr. Shanthie Mariet D’SOUZA has contributed a new opinion piece to “The DIPLOMAT” on “Lessons in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution from Fergana”. She concluded that “In an era marked by global turbulence, rising geopolitical tensions, and deepening distrust between nations, the Fergana Valley has the potential to be a model for building interstate relations, collective identity and regional connectivity.”READ MORE
EGF Affiliated Expert Benyamin POGHOSYAN appeared in a new episode of the GROONG Podcast where he discussed: the current status in the Ukraine war, latest developments in US-Russia relations; Armenian domestic politics; Armenia-Azerbaijan border demarcation and the issue of enclaves; issues in recent Armenia-Azerbaijan civil society dialogue in Yerevan. WATCH HERE
Between 07-10 November 2024, Dr Marat TERTEROV and Dr George Vlad NICULESCU participated in the 28th workshop of the Regional Stability in the South Caucasus Study Group of the PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes on “Connectivity Risks and Opportunities in the South Caucasus”, held in Reichenau a/d Rax (Austria). Please click here for the programme and agenda outline, here for George’s speaking points, here for the policy recommendations, and here for the proceedings of the workshop
Between 10-13 April 2025, Dr George Vlad NICULESCU participated in the 29th workshop of the Regional Stability in the South Caucasus Study Group of the PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes on “Emerging Technologies in Conflict Prevention: Leveraging Technology for Peacebuilding in the South Caucasus”, held in Istanbul (Turkey). Please click here for the programme and agenda outline, and here for George’s speaking points.
On June 3, 2025, Dr. George Vlad Niculescu gave a short brief on the outcomes and potential implications of Romania’s 2025 presidential elections to the “Neighbourhoods” Working Group of the Institute of European Studies de l’Université UCLouvain, site de Saint-Louis-Brussels. Read here his briefing.
By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia
by George Vlad Niculescu, Head of Research, the European Geopolitical Forum 
Elkhan Nuriyev,