A vision and a promise for the South Caucasus

In March we hosted a workshop of young experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, a format that emerged end of last year and that is exceptional because of all participants being independent (not to say critical) of their governments. We discussed the current situation in the countries, how to build mutual trust, we were looking at the wider geopolitical context in the South Caucasus and were reflecting on the future of the region. In the beginning, the rules for our meeting were agreed upon: Being respectful, open and honest, talking AND listening, and attempting to understand. The meeting was amazing because everybody sticked to the rules naturally, nobody needed to be reminded. All were curious about their neighbors, asked questions and attentively listened. Disagreements occurred, but that was ok. When we discussed the topics for future online meetings with the group, it was suggested, among others, to talk about family life, because it appeared to be of common interest to know how ordinary people in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan live, how daily routines look like, what peoples’ joys and worries are. The whole workshop turned out to be a vision and a promise for a peace- and respectful South Caucasus – if the right people get a voice.

Pashinyan meets von der Leyen and Blinken in Brussels

After a summit with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels on 5 April, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to deepen their support to Armenia. While Blinken announced investments and assistance from the US worth 65 million USD, von der Leyen highlighted the EU's "investments to strengthen Armenia's economy and society" worth 270 million EUR until 2028.  

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg visits Yerevan
Concluding his South Caucasus visit that also entailed meetings in Tbilisi and Baku, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met Prime Minister Pashinyan in Yerevan on 19 March. Stoltenberg lauded Armenia's "long-standing partnership and contributions to NATO operations" and underlined NATO's support for Armenia's "peaceful aspirations" and its territorial integrity.

Russian forces detain and abduct Russian citizens on Armenian territory

According to a statement of the NGO Helsinki Citizen's Assembly on 9 April, the military police stationed on the Russian base in Gyumri has captured a Russian man who fled to Armenia after refusing to serve in a unit involved in the war against Ukraine. Similar cases have been reported over the last months, indicating a scheme by the Russian forces to track down deserters in Armenia, detain them in the Gyumri base and likely deport them back to Russia - a grave violation of Armenia's sovereignty. 

Ruling party brings back “Foreign Agents” law

On 3 April, the ruling Georgian Dream party announced the intention to reintroduce the bill on “Foreign Agents” that was pulled back in March 2023 after massive protests. Besides a rewording of the term “Foreign Agent”, the new text is identical to last year’s infamous bill, which aims at forcing civil society and media organizations who receive at least 20 percent of their funds from sources in other countries to be classified as “organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power”. International actors like the EU and the US reiterated their strong concerns about the bill, and Georgian opposition and civil society held protests against what they perceive as the return of the “Russian law”.  

Georgian Dream initiates constitutional crackdown on LGBT rights

Mamuka Mdinaradze, executive secretary of the Georgian Dream party, on 25 March publicly revealed a draft law on amendments to the Georgian constitution which would define restrictions to the rights of the LGBT community. As the main content of the bill, Mdinaradze among others mentioned a ban on transgender surgeries and child adoption by non-heterosexuals, as well as a ban on holding events in public that "propagate same-sex relations".

Georgia qualifies for UEFA EURO 2024

Beating Greece in a penalty shootout on 26 March, the Georgian national football team successfully qualified for the upcoming European football championship in Germany this summer. After the historic win, which sealed the first-ever participation of the Georgian team in a major international football tournament since the independence in 1991, the whole nation engaged in enthusiastic celebrations.

Imprisoned opposition activist Ibadoghlu's health worsens 

Reports about the deteriorating health of Azerbaijani scholar and activist Gubad Ibadoghlu, who is in pre-trial detention for nine months on charges of counterfeiting of money, have alarmed international observers. In a resolution initiated on 25 March, several high-ranking members of the US Senate called for Ibadoghlu's immediate release. His detention is widely regarded as arbitrary and politically motivated.

Baku demands return of four Armenian-controlled villages
In the aftermath of Armenian-Azerbaijani border commission meetings in mid-March,
Azerbaijani deputy prime minister Shahin Mustafayev announced a demand for the "immediate return" of four villages in the northern border region, claiming them to be illegally occupied by Armenia since the 1990s. Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan later confirmed his readiness to hand over the largely uninhabited villages to Azerbaijan in order to progress on the issue of border delimitation.

Land borders remain closed for passenger traffic

The closure of Azerbaijan's land borders for human passengers has been extended until July through an order of Prime Minister Ali Asadov on 11 March. With the official reasoning of Covid-19 related prevention measures widely discredited both domestically and abroad, government-related actors in Baku scrambled to use the terrorist attack in Moscow on 22 March as a pretext to frame the ongoing land border closure as a measure necessary to prevent the influx of terrorists.