Kavkaz

Straddling the narrow land bridge between West Asia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, Armenia has long functioned as more than a small, landlocked state. The southern province of Syunik forms the only direct connection between Iran and the north, while also sitting on the fault line between Turkish, Azerbaijani, Russian, …

The EU lacks leadership and strategic planning in the South Caucasus, while the United States is leading the charge. To secure its geopolitical interests, Brussels must invest in new connectivity for the region. To promote the planned new Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) across the South Caucasus, …

Russia’s influence in the South Caucasus has decreased in recent years. Well beyond Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and long-term trends, two factors in particular help understanding why things have changed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijan’s war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, and the authoritarian turn in Georgia have all contributed to …

On May 30, multiple media platforms published the news that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had bought a luxurious villa overlooking Marseille for 3.1 million euros ($3.6 million). The articles claimed that, in order to purchase the property, Pashinyan had misappropriated funds from the French Development Agency (AFD) and the …

Sur l’échiquier changeant de la géopolitique mondiale, peu d’événements sont aussi importants et aussi peu médiatisés que l’émergence de deux corridors : le corridor de Zangezur et le corridor de David. Ces projets, qui s’étendent du sud du Caucase au nord de l’Irak, ne sont pas seulement des infrastructures : …

At the end of a media briefing in New York last month, senior US official Tom Barrack slid in a reference to Washington controlling one of the most fraught pieces of land in the South Caucasus. “They’re arguing over 32km of road, but this is no joke,” Mr Barrack said. …

Washington brokered an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8 aimed at opening a transit corridor through the South Caucasus. The new agreement replaces the original Zangezur Corridor plan with the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” (TRIPP). Unlike the model preferred by Azerbaijan and Turkey, TRIPP will …

Criminal networks in the South Caucasus are expanding their reach across borders, exploiting both the region’s geographic position as a trade hub and its complex political environments. While in Azerbaijan, organized crime has largely been absorbed by the state apparatus, in Georgia and Armenia, criminal groups have been allowed to …

In recent days, relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have entered a new phase of unprecedented tension due to several incidents and shifting geopolitical dynamics in the South Caucasus. These tensions hold significant implications not only for Baku and Moscow, but also for Turkiye, a close ally of Azerbaijan and a …

Georgia was once considered a post-Soviet success story. After years of authoritarian rule, followed by independence which brought near state collapse, corruption and chaos, Georgia appeared to have transitioned to democracy. In a period after independence in 1991 and before 2020, elections were regularly held and were deemed mostly free …