Armenia: Does Gas Explain Decision to Join Customs Union?
Some Armenian officials would have you believe that Yerevan's surprise decision to join the Russia-led Customs Union all came down to economic moxie. And, in a way, perhaps it did. But in gaseous form....
View ArticleReports: Karabakh Hopes to Produce for Versace
Could Azerbaijan be facing encroachments on its territorial integrity by Italian fashion brands? Armenian and Karabakhi media have it that Versace, Armani, Prada and Moschino are considering setting up...
View ArticleArmenia Invites Kazakhstan on Over for a Chat
Armenia and Kazakhstan do not have much in common other than their Soviet Union past and Eurasian-Union future. So, if Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev accepts a recent invite to visit Armenia,...
View ArticleArmenia’s Gyumri Becomes Putinville
Armenia’s second-largest city of Gyumri is becoming a Potemkin -- or rather a Putin -- Village for a two-day visit this December by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the best Soviet tradition, when...
View ArticleAzerbaijan Condemns Crimea Takeover in UN Show of Hands
After first trying to look the other way when Russia mugged Ukraine, Azerbaijan now has joined the international show of hands against the conquest of Crimea. Aside from hitting its yes button in the...
View ArticleAzerbaijan Accuses Journalist of Spying for Armenia
Azerbaijan has arrested and charged prominent newspaper correspondent Rauf Mirkadirov, a political analyst critical of its policies, with alleged espionage for Armenia. On April 19, Turkish police...
View ArticleWill Journalist’s Arrest End Azerbaijani-Armenian Citizen Diplomacy?
The April 19 arrest of prominent Azerbaijani newspaper correspondent and political analyst Rauf Mirkadirov could put an end to efforts by Azerbaijani and Armenian civil society activists and...
View ArticleArmenia Attempts a Eurasian Tango in Argentina
Taking its Eurasian-Union dreams into the Western Hemisphere, Armenia has offered itself to Argentina as a conduit for trade with the Russia-led economic club, even though Yerevan is still knocking on...
View ArticleArmenia Wants Visa-Free Ties with the EU
Armenia may have refused an offer of duty-free ties with the European Union, but it still hopes for a visa-free relationship.Yerevan’s July-23 request to move toward a visa-free ride for Armenian...
View ArticleKarabakh Reloaded: A Chance for Putin to Make a Play?
The renewed ruckus between Armenia and Azerbaijan has prompted calls for rehashing the international approach to finding a peaceful resolution to the 26-year-long Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. But, so...
View ArticleArmenia Pressured to Choose between EU and Russia
There still might be room for a substantial partnership between the European Union and Armenia, says Brussels, but it will depend on how exclusive the Caucasus country’s relationship is going to be...
View ArticleBlack Caviar in the Black Garden: Another Conflict for Karabakh?
When you think caviar, you don’t necessarily think of breakaway Nagorno Karabakh, a remote South-Caucasus region over which Azerbaijan has been warring with separatists and Armenia for years. But...
View ArticleArmenia on Eurasian Union: Better the "Russian Yoke" You Know
Armenia has sealed its Russia-deal, cinching its choice of the Russian-led EU over the EU proper, but is not entirely happy about it.By a 103-7 vote, the National Assembly on December 4 endorsed...
View ArticleRussia to Loan Armenia $200m for Guns
As tensions again flare up between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Moscow has agreed to lend Yerevan $200 million for weaponry purchases at reduced rates.In a September 7 statement after meeting with Russian...
View ArticleArmenia Looks to China, Russia for Stronger Ties with Iran
In a setup indicative of the changing economic and, possibly, geopolitical dynamics in the South Caucasus, Armenia hopes China soon will agree to pay for a planned railway to Iran. At the same time, it...
View ArticleGerman Lawmakers Recognize 1915 Armenian Massacre as Genocide
Over protests from Turkey, Germany on June 2 passed a resolution recognizing the Ottoman Empire-era slaughter of ethnic Armenians as genocide. The motion, backed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s...
View ArticleMore Putin Peace for Karabakh
Russia on June 20 cemented its role as the MC-enforcer of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict talks by hosting Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the duo’s...
View ArticleGermany’s Ballasting Mission to the South Caucasus
Germany this week took its turn to appease and assure the South Caucasus about the European Union’s integration intentions by sending its top diplomat to the topsy-turvy region. Given Germany’s...
View ArticleHow Will Donald Trump Handle the Caucasus?
On the cusp of what appears a new era of unpredictability in international affairs, countries in the Caucasus, that sensitive borderland between East and West, are wondering what to expect from Donald...
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