Home | commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

News

High level U.S. talks with Europeans on ending the Russia-Ukraine war

17 April 2025

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, is travelling to Paris for talks with European allies on U.S. efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The State Department said Rubio and Witkoff would be in the French capital Thursday for the meetings. The officials will have “talks with European counterparts to advance President Trump’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed,” department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement on Wednesday.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: How to Take the Most from the Present De-Facto Peace Period in Armenia-Azerbaijan Relations

17 April 2025

The Antalya Diplomacy Forum, held on April 11-13 in the resort Turkish town of Antalya, presented a rare opportunity for trilateral engagement among the foreign ministers of the three South Caucasian countries. The candid exchange between Azerbaijan’s Jeyhun Bayramov, Armenia’s Ararat Mirzoyan, and Georgia’s Maka Bochorishvili, facilitated by Türkiye, offered a fragile yet meaningful sign that this fractured region may be inching toward regional peace and prosperity. Importantly, each minister underlined the significance of overcoming dividing lines in the South Caucasus and opening a new chapter for intraregional cooperation.

Vasif Huseynov

Editor's choice

News

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan meet during Antalya Diplomacy Forum

15 April 2025

Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov had an exchange about the pending peace agreement between the two countries during a high level diplomatic forum in Antalya. The two debated the current political situation in the region during a panel discussion titled “Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Cooperation in the South Caucasus” held during the 4th Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

Monday Commentary

Monday Commentary: “Germany is Back on Track” ……..and Europeans should be Happy about it!

14 April 2025

On Wednesday (9 April) a new coalition government was announced in Germany bringing back a CDU chancellor working with the centre-left SPD as junior partners. It is an arrangement that Germans are familiar with. Many post-war German governments were similarly constituted, and the German people are comfortable with this arrangement. It buries the prospect of the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), which came second in recent elections, having a role in government. The 146 pages coalition agreement was hammered out in a relatively short time, with those negotiating fully aware of the urgency of giving the country a stable government at a time of global uncertainty and serious domestic challenges. “Germany is back on track” announced the Chancellor-designate, Friedrich Merz, who is expected to take office in early May. Europeans should be happy. A strong Germany is the backbone of Europe, and the new coalition is the best guarantee of that.

Dennis Sammut

Editor's choice

News

The Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency clears over 2000 hectares of landmines

15 April 2025

The Azerbaijan Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) released a statement last week detailing demining operations that have been carried out from March 31 to April 6. Over the course of the week, 2000 hectares were demined, clearing 107 anti-personnel mines, 13 anti-tank mines, and 870 unexploded ordnances.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

News

LINKS Europe hosts inaugural Co-Chairs meeting of the Thematic Group on Peace and Security

11 April 2025

The inaugural meeting of the two co-chairs of the thematic group on Peace and Security was hosted in The Hague by LINKS Europe in parallel with the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Political Dialogue Platform. During the meeting held on 2 April and chaired by LINKS Europe, Leonid Nersissian (Armenia) and Murad Muradov (Azerbaijan) discussed the work plan for the next nine months.

commonspace.eu

Focus on the South Caucasus

Editor's choice

News

Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan meet during Antalya Diplomacy Forum

15 April 2025

Armenia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov had an exchange about the pending peace agreement between the two countries during a high level diplomatic forum in Antalya. The two debated the current political situation in the region during a panel discussion titled “Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Cooperation in the South Caucasus” held during the 4th Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

Opinion

Gyumri Election Highlights Growing Challenge to Pashinyan’s Rule

8 April 2025

With just over a year left before parliamentary elections in Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan finds himself grappling with a rapidly changing political landscape. At the end of last month, voters in the country’s second largest city of Gyumri went to the polls to elect a new municipal council that would then select a mayor. While local elections might not seem as important as national votes, the results were anything but insignificant. With Pashinyan’s approval ratings around 11 percent according to a survey conducted in January, the results and how the vote was conducted could prove a useful barometer to assess his political future.

Onnik James Krikorian

Monday Commentary

Editor's choice

Monday Commentary

Monday Commentary: Türkiye’s changing and growing role in the South Caucasus

7 April 2025

Last week, LINKS Europe organised a major conference in the Hague with the theme, “The South Caucasus, again in transition”. The event brought together experts, policy practitioners, and political voices from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to discuss the regional dynamics in the South Caucasus and the role of the European Union and Türkiye in the region.

Dennis Sammut

Editor's choice

Monday Commentary

Monday Commentary: Yemen – the forgotten conflict

31 March 2025

The civil war in Yemen has been going on for ten years, and the world has pretended not to notice. It is only when the conflict spills over to neighbouring countries and regions that we see a flurry of activity, usually of the wrong kind. This was the case when targets in UAE and Saudi Arabia came under attack, or more recently when shipping in the Red Sea was targeted by Yemen’s current ruling group, the Houthis.

Dennis Sammut

Editor's choice

News

LINKS Europe holds expert conference in The Hague on political transition in the South Caucasus

8 April 2025

A conference organised in The Hague by LINKS Europe Foundation brought together experts and activists from the South Caucasus, the European Union and beyond to discuss the current state of political transition in the region. The gathering gave particular attention to the European Union's evolving role in the region amidst rapidly changing domestic and regional dynamics as well as Türkiye's influence as a regional power.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: Wounds and Empathy in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

12 March 2025

Upon visiting Karabakh in 1994, there were two possible routes for my return to Yerevan. The first was the same way I arrived by military helicopter, and the second was by road. With no highway in place at the time, that would take longer and prove more challenging. Even if the helicopter on the way to Karabakh had to perform an evasive manoeuvre when the pilot was informed of Azerbaijani activity in the area, it was by far the quickest and made the journey in under 45 minutes rather than an estimated 12 hours by road. I had spent less than three hours in Yerevan upon arrival from London and over a week in Karabakh. A few days would barely be enough for meetings with Vazgen Sargsyan in Yerevan and the Locum Tenens Catholicos in Etchmiadzin. I also had to meet Seta Melkonian, recently widowed wife of Monte, and two local journalists reporting on the conflict.

Onnik James Krikorian

Editor's choice

News

Finnish President of the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly in trouble after meeting Russian representative

12 April 2025

The President of the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly, Finnish MP Pia Kauma (NCP), met with a Russian representative during the annual meeting of the organisation’s Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan drawing fire for violating the EU policy of isolating Russia after the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

News

Georgia's Central Election Commission adopts amendments restricting election observation

9 April 2025

The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia has adopted amendments to the rules and procedures for voting using electronic means. Under the changes, persons authorised to be present at polling stations are prohibited from requesting voters to present ID cards or from confiscating them. Additionally, photo and video recording inside the precinct election commission building is now restricted.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

Opinion

Opinion: Lessons Learnt for the South Caucasus from the Russia-USA ‘Rapprochement’

25 March 2025

The evolving dynamics of Russia-USA relations have sent shockwaves through the post-Soviet space, with the South Caucasus emerging as a critical region to observe the fallout. Recent negotiations between the United States and Russia, particularly those aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, have exposed fault lines in international diplomacy that carry profound lessons for Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The implications of this “rapprochement” are starkly illustrated by Ukraine’s experience, Azerbaijan’s strategic foresight, and Armenia’s persistent miscalculations in relying on external powers for security.

Vasif Huseynov

Focus on Central Asia

Editor's choice

News

First EU-Central Asia summit to take place in Uzbekistan on 3-4 April

21 March 2025

The President of the European Council, António Costa, along with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, will be travelling to Uzbekistan for the first EU-Central Asia summit on 3-4 April. The summit will be hosted by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Samarkand, with the participation of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The summit will present a key opportunity for the EU to demonstrate its geopolitical interest in intensifying bilateral engagement and enhance regional cooperation with Central Asia.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

News

EU Commissioner Síkela visits Central Asia to promote development projects in the region

12 March 2025

Between 12 and 18 March, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela will visit the five Central Asian countries to strengthen the EU-Central Asia partnership ahead of the EU-Central Asia Summit and scale up Global Gateway, the EU’s investment strategy to boost jobs and sustainable economic growth.

commonspace.eu

Focus on NGOs

Editor's choice

News

LINKS Europe hosts inaugural Co-Chairs meeting of the Thematic Group on Peace and Security

11 April 2025

The inaugural meeting of the two co-chairs of the thematic group on Peace and Security was hosted in The Hague by LINKS Europe in parallel with the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Political Dialogue Platform. During the meeting held on 2 April and chaired by LINKS Europe, Leonid Nersissian (Armenia) and Murad Muradov (Azerbaijan) discussed the work plan for the next nine months.

commonspace.eu

Editor's choice

News

Armenians and Azerbaijanis discuss how to shape a dialogue best suited for today's realities as LINKS Europe kicks off new initiative

31 January 2025

LINKS Europe held its first event within the recently launched EU4Peace III programme in Tbilisi on Thursday 30 January. Armenian and Azerbaijani participants engaged in an open and constructive discussion on how to shape a dialogue best suited to today's realities. As part of the initiative, LINKS Europe will shortly launch five thematic groups: The thematic groups, with Armenian and Azerbaijani participants will discuss the following topics: (1) Climate Change & the Green Economy; (2) Peace & Security; (3) Governance; (4) Regional Connectivity; (5) Gender and Diversity . On 2nd April, at a meeting in The Hague, LINKS Europe will launch the Armenia-Azerbaijan Expert Political Dialogue Platform. The platform is a parallel, mutually reenforcing initiative bringing together experienced Armenian and Azerbaijani experts and stakeholders. It is expected that one of the main tasks of the platform in 2025 will be to support the thematic groups, particularly in the phase of preparation of their reports. The EU4Peace III action, supported and funded by the European Union, aims to contribute to the sustainable normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. By broadening the engagement of social groups, the initiative aims to link political processes to wider societal transformation.

LINKS Europe

commonspace.eu is an activity of LINKS Europe, an independent foundation based in The Hague, The Netherlands. We focus on issues related to European peace and security, Europe's neighbouring regions, including Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia; North Africa and the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. LINKS Europe is committed to contributing to a better future by increasing understanding of complex foreign policy issues, by promoting dialogue and confidence-building as tools for helping to resolve conflict, and by engaging citizens in the process of building peace and security on the basis of solidarity and mutual respect. Through commonspace.eu, we aim to provide insights and analysis on different topics in our area of interest and a platform for diverse opinions.

Read LINKS Europe's work programme for the two-year period 2024-2025 here