Category: Azerbaijan, South Caucasus

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Announces the Total Withdrawal of Its Troops From Nagorno-Karabakh” – Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Headlines
Azerbaijan Map, including Nagorno-Karabakh, adapted from state.gov image

“On 17 April 2024, Russia announced the withdrawal of its peacekeeping forces from Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. This surprise announcement means … the troops will leave one and half years before the formal end of their mandate … amid crucial developments in the [South Caucasus] power balance …. [F]ollowing Azerbaijan’s recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent exodus of Karabakh Armenians … […]

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Russia in Review, Feb. 23-March 1, 2024

Armenia, Arms Trade, Military Aid, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Belarus, China, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, France, Georgia, Headlines, Human Rights, Military, NATO, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, North Korea, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Oil, Gas, Energy, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Sanctions, Syria, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 7 Things to Know Vladimir Putin used his annual address to the Russian parliament to not only rattle his nuclear saber at the West again, but also to accuse his Western counterparts of “spooking the world” with the threat of a nuclear war, all while claiming to be ready for talks on nuclear arms control. “We remember what […]

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Russia in Review, Feb. 9-15, 2024

Armenia, Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, China, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Headlines, Human Rights, Military, NATO, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Sanctions, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 5 Things to Know Donald Trump’s advisers have discussed getting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin around a negotiating table early in a potential second term, according to a Feb. 14 report by Bloomberg. One adviser to Trump said the promise of severing U.S. military aid could help get Zelenskyy—whom Trump has described as “the greatest […]

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Russia Analytical Report, Nov. 20-27, 2023

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Caucasus, Central Asia, China, Cybersecurity, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Germany, Headlines, Israel, Gaza, Hamas, Palestine, Military, NATO, North Korea, Oil, Gas, Energy, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Turkey, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United Nations, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations, Women
File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) There is no “durable stalemate on the ground” in the Russian-Ukrainian war as there is “no clear-cut parity,” CEIP’s Michael Kofman said in a War on the Rocks podcast shortly after returning from Ukraine. Looking back, Kofman advised that “the sooner we can say” Ukraine’s counteroffensive has not been successful, “the sooner we can learn from it.” Looking […]

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Russia in Review, Nov. 17-21, 2023

Abortion, Agriculture, Argentina, Armenia, Arms Trade, Military Aid, Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Belarus, BRICS, Bulgaria, Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, China, Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Headlines, Human Rights, India, Israel, Gaza, Hamas, Palestine, Latin America, Middle East, North Africa, Military, NATO, Oil, Gas, Energy, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Population Disaster, Demographics, Regions, Cities, Municipalities, Religion, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 3 Things to Know In the past month, Russian forces have gained 16 square miles of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine gained 7 square miles, according to calculations by Katherine Davidson, associate of the Belfer Russia-Ukraine War Task Force.1Yet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has this week denied his top general Valery Zaluzhny’s recent claim that the war has reached […]

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Russia Analytical Report, Oct. 2-10, 2023

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, China, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Headlines, Israel, Gaza, Hamas, Palestine, Military, NATO, North Korea, Nuclear Proliferation, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Oil, Gas, Energy, Terrorism, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) “An existential threat to Israel could draw American attention away from the Ukrainian cause, possibly smoothing a path toward a Russian triumph in Europe,” CFR’s Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware write in War on the Rocks. NYT editors raise a related concern, warning that “the violence in Israel may also strengthen calls to cut military aid to Ukraine.” […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis Deepens Divides in Armenia Toward Russia” – Moscow Times

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Caucasus, Headlines
Azerbaijan Map, including Nagorno-Karabakh, adapted from state.gov image

(Moscow Times – Kirill Ponomarev – Sept. 28, 2023) YEREVAN, Armenia – Tigran has been protesting outside the Russian embassy every day since Azerbaijan launched its offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. On the embassy’s steps, flowers have been laid in memory of the peacekeepers who were killed by Azerbaijani shelling last week. “Are these bloody flowers for the occupiers?” reads the poster […]

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Russia in Review, Sept. 15-22, 2023

Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, China, Cybersecurity, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Headlines, Human Rights, Iran, Military, NATO, North Korea, Nuclear, Missile Defense, Oil, Gas, Energy, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Turkey, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Sept. 22, 2023) 7 Things to Know Ukraine intends to continue its counteroffensive through the autumn and into the winter, according to remarks made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley this week. “The fight right now still has plenty of fighting weather left,” according to Gen. Milley. At the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “With world distracted, Azerbaijan tries to stamp out Karabakh separatists” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Headlines, JRL NewsBlog
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“Russia has long maintained the status quo in the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. But Moscow no longer appears willing to do so, and Azerbaijanis are taking the region back by force.” “Time may be running out for the self-declared republic of Artsakh … within Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan. As Azerbaijani forces launched a concerted military assault […]

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Russia in Review, Sept. 1-8, 2023

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Baltics, Belarus, Central Asia, China, Cybersecurity, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Estonia, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Germany, Headlines, Human Rights, Kyrgyzstan, Military, Moldova, NATO, North Korea, Nuclear Energy, Oil, Gas, Energy, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Romania, Sanctions, Space, Spies, Spy Allegations, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations, Uzbekistan
File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

7 Things to Know G-20 leaders began arriving in New Delhi on Sept. 8 for their annual gathering as negotiators struggled to bridge differences over the war in Ukraine in the group’s joint statement. While it remains unclear whether a final consensus can be reached, China appears to have dropped its initial opposition to language on Ukraine and Russia, according […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Not partners, but on same page: Russia, West push Armenian-Azeri peace” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Headlines, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“Even while starkly divided over the war in Ukraine, Russia and the West show hints of being able to find common ground on other issues of importance, as evidenced by an imminent Armenian-Azeri peace treaty.” “A peace deal to end the bitter, three-decade-long conflict over the fate of the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh inside Azerbaijan appears almost within reach. … […]

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Russia’s Karabakh Protectorate Taking Clearer Shape (Part One)

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Military
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

(The Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 18, Issue 45 – Vladimir Socor – March 18, 2021) Russia’s military “peacekeeping” intervention in Upper (“Nagorno”) Karabakh in November 2020 laid the foundation for a Russian de facto protectorate (see EDM, December 8, 10, 2020). The Second Karabakh War (September 27–November 9, 2020) has resulted in a partition of […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Armenian Armed Forces demand PM Pashinyan’s resignation – General Staff” – Interfax

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Yerevan

YEREVAN. Feb 25 (Interfax) – The Armenian Armed Forces demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the national government, the Armed Forces’ General Staff said in a statement. “The General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces strongly protests against the relief of General Staff First Deputy Chief Tiran Khachatryan of duties for short-sighted and unfounded reasons, which was […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Armenia seeks bigger Russian military presence on its territory” – Reuters

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog, Military
Yerevan

“Armenia would welcome .. expansion of a Russian military base on its territory and … redeployment of some Russian forces closer to its border with Azerbaijan … its defence minister said …. Ethnic Armenian[s] … in … Nagorno-Karabakh … ceded … territory in and around the enclave to Azerbaijan in a six-week conflict in 2020 … that claimed thousands of […]

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Biden Administration Set to Challenge Russia Across the Southern Caucasus, Sitnikov Says

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Georgia, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of Tbilisi, Georgia and Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

… Biden, Russians will remember, pushed hard for the US to back Georgia in 2008 and has always shown more interest in the South Caucasus than any other senior American official […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree to Develop War-Ravaged Nagorno-Karabakh” – Wall Street Journal/ Ann M. Simmons

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“A Russian-brokered peace deal appears to be holding but challenges over POWs and displaced people have yet to be resolved.” “… Deep-seated hostilities [reportedly] will make it tough for Armenians and Azeris to live side by side, at least in the short term …. [T]he region[] [has a] history of ethnic animosity between … largely Christian Armenians and mostly Muslim, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Armenian, Azerbaijani leaders in Russia for talks” – AP

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“… Putin … hosted … counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan[] [for] their first meeting since a … Nov. 10 peace deal end[ing] 44 days of hostilities in which … Azerbaijani [forces] routed Armenian forces … reclaim[ing] control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. Nagorno-Karabakh … within Azerbaijan … had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Foreign Policy Experts Map Russia’s Plans for 2021” – Moscow Times

Africa, Arctic, Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Belarus, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Turkey, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Satellite Image of Earth in Style of Mercator Map, adapted from image at nasa.gov

We asked 10 experts to predict what Russia has in store for the world next year. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Pjotr Sauer – Jan. 4, 2021) Russia had to tread a fine foreign policy line in 2020. The country’s near abroad was rocked by unprecedented unrest as uprisings in Kremlin-friendly Kyrgyzstan and Belarus and war in the Caucasus challenged […]

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The Second Karabakh War and Western Strategic Thinking

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Europe, EU, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

(The Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Robert M. Cutler – Jan. 5, 2021) Robert M. Cutler is a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a Practitioner Member of the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation, the University of Waterloo The Second Karabakh War has revealed the intellectual bankruptcy of the West’s penchant for grand strategic thinking, which stereotypes […]

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Baku’s Success in Using Turkish Drones Raises Question: Could Ukraine Use Them Against Russia in Crimea?

Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Military, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 17, Issue 179 – Paul Goble – Dec. 16, 2020) The Azerbaijani military’s use of Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), purchased from Turkey, played such a prominent role in Baku’s victory over Armenian forces during the Second Karabakh War (September 27–November 9, 2020) that defense analysts around the world are […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Protesters in Armenia besiege parliament, demand PM resigns” – AP/ Avet Demourian

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Yerevan

“Thousands of protesters converged on … Armenia’s [parliament building] … … push[ing] for the resignation of … prime minister [Nikol Pashinyan] over his handling of the fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. … Armenia’s opposition parties gave Pashinyan an ultimatum to resign … [H]e has ignored the demand, defending the peace deal as … bitter but necessary …. 44 days of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Nagorno-Karabakh conflict killed 5,000 soldiers” – BBC

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog, Nagorno-Karabakh
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“… Azerbaijan made significant territorial gains but gave no casualty numbers, while Armenia said last month it had counted 2,425 dead soldiers. Now Azerbaijan says 2,783 of its forces died in the Nagorno-Karabakh war and another 100 are missing in action. It brings to over 5,000 the number of soldiers confirmed to have died. At least 143 civilians were also […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Putin Urges Post-Soviet Allies to Support Embattled Armenian PM” – Moscow Times

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Armenia Map and Flag

… Putin has urged fellow members of a post-Soviet military bloc to support Armenia’s prime minister as he grapples with domestic pressure over … a Moscow-brokered peace deal with Azerbaijan […]

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Armenians See Russia As ‘Savior’ Not ‘Scapegoat’ In Nagorno-Karabakh War

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Nagorno-Karabakh
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Ron Synovitz – Nov. 24, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/armenians-see-russia-as-savior-not-scapegoat-in-nagorno-karabakh-war/30966988.html) As war raged this autumn over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, some Armenians expressed a sense of betrayal that long-standing ally Russia wasn’t providing more support to ethnic Armenian fighters in the conflict. But any […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “In Nagorno-Karabakh peace deal, Russia’s Putin claims a strategic win. But risks are attached” – Washington Post / Robyn Dixon

Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog, Turkey
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“… Under the cease-fire, nearly 2,000 [Russian] peacekeepers have been deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist enclave controlled by an ethnic Armenian government within the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. … reinforc[ing] the Kremlin’s view that its sphere of influence includes Azerbaijan and Armenia …. [and providing] another counterweight to geopolitical rival[] Turkey, a close Azerbaijan ally and key customer for […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Peace, for now; A peace deal ends a bloody war over Nagorno-Karabakh; Azerbaijan wins some land, while Turkey and Russia carve out spheres of influence” – The Economist

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“Brokered by Russia and Turkey …. [t]he peace deal marks one of the biggest shake-ups in a turbulent region at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East since the collapse of the Soviet empire, which also began in Nagorno-Karabakh. … [A]fter 25 years of waiting for the return of its territory, Azerbaijan went back to war. … aided […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Caucasus ceasefire cements Turkey as a power in Russia’s backyard; Azerbaijan-Armenia truce underlines new regional balance between Moscow and Ankara” – Financial Times/ Henry Foy, Laura Pitel

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog, Military, Turkey
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“… a six-week-long conflict with Armenia over … Nagorno-Karabakh … resulted in major gains for Azerbaijan and its Turkish-backed military …. A truce … freezes the conflict … includ[ing] agreements that [Russian ally] Armenia … must hand over additional land …. While the truce was brokered by Moscow — which has deployed [nearly 2,000] peacekeepers — … Azerbaijan’s success with […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia ‘Open’ to Return of Armenia-Held Land to Azerbaijan – Putin” – Moscow Times

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oct. 30, 2020) Russia is open to Azerbaijan reclaiming seven areas surrounding the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh that Armenia has controlled for 26 years, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. Azerbaijani forces have been making gains against Armenian separatist fighters since the heaviest fighting since a 1994 ceasefire over the South Caucasus region erupted last month. […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Nagorno-Karabakh Briefing – Oct. 30” – Moscow Times

Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oct. 30, 2020) Azerbaijani forces were closing in on the key town of Shusha on Thursday evening – the capture of which could transform the conflict at a time when analysts fear a “war of attrition” could be about to set in as winter approaches the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region. Meanwhile talks in Geneva will attempt […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Is a Bad Omen” – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace/ Paul Stronski

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“With the United States shrugging off its erstwhile role as the world’s policeman, can anyone stop the fierce fighting now raging between Armenia and Azerbaijan?” “… The long-running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, … dat[ing] to the waning days of the Soviet Union, is not going to trigger a global war[] [n]or … affect … [great power] vital interests […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Reported death toll in Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes about 600” – AP

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

“The reported death toll in clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over … Nagorno-Karabakh has reached about 600 … [F]ighting continues despite a cease-fire …. More than two weeks of deadly clashes marked the biggest escalation of a decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh … in Azerbaijan but … under control of ethnic Armenian[s] … backed by Armenia since the end of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Loses His Footing in Russia’s Backyard” – Wall Street Journal/ Thomas Grove

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Belarus, Central Asia, China, Europe, EU, Turkey
File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

“Washington has watched Russia expand its global influence, but along its borders, Moscow is losing its monopoly on power.” “… Putin has long tried to strengthen economic and defense relations across Eastern Europe and Central Asia …. Russia still has military bases in Central Asia and the South Caucasus … [T]here are strong commercial and cultural ties …. But … […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s Security Guarantees for Armenia Don’t Extend to Karabakh, Putin Says” – Moscow Times

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Military
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

Russia’s commitments to Armenia as part of a Moscow-led regional security bloc do not include the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region where fighting is raging between Armenia and Azerbaijan … Putin said […]

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Armenia-Azerbaijan War: Military Dimensions of the Conflict

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Map of Azerbaijan and Environs, adapted from image at cia.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Michael Kofman – Oct. 2, 2020) Michael Kofman is a senior research scientist and director of the Russia Studies program at CNA. On Sept. 27, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive, resulting in fighting that spans much of the line of contact in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is de facto occupied by Armenia. As of […]

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RUSSIALINK: “What Is Russia’s Role in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict?” – Moscow Times

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Caucasus
Map of Azerbaijan and South Caucasus Environs Including Portions of Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, Caspian Sea

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sept. 28, 2020) At least 39 troops and civilians have been killed over the past two days in the worst clashes between foes Armenia and Azerbaijan since 2016. Fighting between the ex-Soviet republics over a decades-long territorial dispute threatens to embroil regional players Russia and Turkey. The United States, Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin and […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The U.S. and Russia have a rare opportunity to work together on a peace deal” – Washington Post/ David Ignatius

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, JRL NewsBlog, Middle East, North Africa, Turkey
Map of Armenia and Environs

“… Russia and the United States … are co-chairs of a group … seeking to broker a peace deal [addressing] …. the long-frozen standoff between Armenia and Azerbaijan … with roots in ethnic and territorial disputes which this month became a hot war with barrages of artillery …. a rare convergence of interest between Russia and the United States, two […]

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Is This The Most Important Geopolitical Deal Of 2018?

Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Oil, Gas, Energy, Turkmenistan

(Oilprice.com – Olgu Okumus – August 13, 2018 – oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Asia/Is-This-The-Most-Important-Geopolitical-Deal-Of-2018.html) The two-decade-long dispute on the statute of the Caspian Sea, the world largest water reserve, came to an end last Sunday when five littoral states (Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan) agreed to give it a special legal status – it is now neither a sea, nor a lake. Before […]

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NEWSWATCH: “The Front Line Drawn Across Russia’s Backyard” – Stratfor

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Belarus, Europe, EU, Georgia, JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Military, NATO, Russia & the West, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“Globalization has changed how we think about time, space and distance, but geography is still the same where it counts: national security. … former Soviet states lining Russia’s border know this better than most … their proximity to the eastern giant renders them more vulnerable to Moscow’s hybrid warfare …. Nations like Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova sit on the front line of […]

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On 25 years of postmodernity in the South Caucasus

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Caucasus, Georgia

A quarter century since the collapse of Soviet rule in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, where is the region now and what can come next? (opendemocracy.net – Georgi Derlugian – October 4, 2016) Georgi Derluguian, in his earlier life a Soviet-trained Africanist, studies the evolution of human societies along with practicing expeditionary fieldwork. Among his books are Bourdieu’s Secret Admirer in […]

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Russia Says Armenian-Azeri Peace Deal Is Closer Than Ever

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Map of Azerbaijan and South Caucasus Environs Including Portions of Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, Caspian Sea

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Zulfugar Agayev, Sara Khojoyan – July 12, 2016) Russia is taking the lead in ramping up international efforts to end the conflict between Azeris and Armenians over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh after the worst outbreak of fighting in more than 20 years. “We have reasons to believe that we’re much closer now to success than ever […]

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How Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Could Spark Major International Crisis

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Map of Azerbaijan and South Caucasus Environs Including Portions of Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, Caspian Sea

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – April 7, 2016) Springtime in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is predictable enough. As sure as the plane trees begin to flower, skirmishes break out between Azeri and Armenian troops. On April 2, however, the typically short-lasting, day-long ritual morphed into the makings of a serious international crisis. Armenia and Azerbaijan have […]

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De Waal: Kremlin ‘Not Primary Actor’ Behind Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Map of Azerbaijan and South Caucasus Environs Including Portions of Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, Caspian Sea

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Arzu Geybullayeva – April 4, 2016) A noted Western expert on the Caucasus says tensions between Azerbaijanis and Armenians over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh make their dispute one of the most menacing unresolved conflicts from the time the Soviet Union was breaking up in the early 1990s. But Thomas de Waal, a senior associate with Carnegie […]

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Russian expert: Karabakh conflict to go back to frozen state

Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus
Map of Azerbaijan and South Caucasus Environs Including Portions of Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, Caspian Sea

(Interfax – April 5, 2016) The ongoing outbreak of tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh will not spark a full-scale armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and complex and problem-ridden negotiations in which Moscow traditionally plays a mediating role are likely to resume, Fyodor Lukyanov, Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, has said. “The transformation of current […]

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