As peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan continue, Baku has opened a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, raising fears of a new surge in fighting. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts discuss the risks. What is happening? There is a growing …

Since 2021, the Biden Administration has been cozying up to Iran in a way that has often seemed agonizingly embarrassing to entice it back to the disastrous 2015 “JCPOA” nuclear deal of the Obama Administration. Mercifully those efforts did not succeed: the new deal would still most likely have enabled …

Long denied by Western allies, Ukraine has received a new long-range missile system from the United Kingdom, which is working with the Netherlands to procure F-16s on Ukraine’s behalf. The Storm Shadow cruise missile’s 300-kilometer range enables Ukraine to strike deep into Russian-controlled territory, placing the Russian Black Sea fleet’s …

With police brutality in the form of truncheons and spraying of tear gas in the eyes, the newly elected mayors of three municipalities in the northern part of Kosovo entered the buildings where they are supposed to establish their offices. Zubin Potok, Leposavić, Zvečan were the scene of unrest on …

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, announced last night that he is stepping down from the leadership of the SNS, and Miloš Vučević , the current Minister of Defense, was elected as the new leader of the progressive party on Saturday. At the same time, Vučić announced the establishment of …

Hungary is releasing hundreds of convicted people smugglers on condition they leave the country within 72 hours. Neighbouring countries are furious over an issue seen as another attempt to blackmail the EU over the freezing of billions in funds. On Monday, Austria announced the strengthening of border controls and summoned …

Croatia says that a big jump in migrants and refugees being returned to Bosnia is thanks to Sarajevo finally implementing a bilateral ‘readmissions’ deal. Data from Bosnia suggests otherwise. Croatia has been sending migrants and refugees back to Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2017 on the basis of a bilateral agreement …

Elsewhere, Polish parties try to outdo each other over child handouts; the media is in the headlines in Czechia; and Slovakia’s new technocratic government gets to work. Afact-finding delegation of the European Parliament’s Budgetary Control Committee left Budapest this week with concerns that the Hungarian government is not doing enough …

A leaked proposal by Hungary’s MVM Group that would see Serbia cede much of its hydropower resources has been seized on by the Serbian opposition and energy experts as another damaging consequence of the close ties between the countries’ leaders. Energy experts and opposition politicians in Serbia are accusing the …