Caucasus

On April 2, 2017 Parliamentary elections took place in Armenia. These were the first national elections after the Constitutional Referendum of 2015 which transformed the country from a Presidential into a Parliamentary Republic. An analysis.

Just one month after Wladimir Putin's official visit to Azerbaijan, where the chance for signing a binding trade agreement between Baku and Moscow was squandered, the Russian president welcomed his Armenian counterpart in Moscow. It's the latter who made headlines on September 3rd by surprisingly announcing that Armenia would join the Russian-led Customs Union.

Those who advocate for the rights of sexual minorities in all three countries are confronted with staunchly conservative stereotypes and deep-seated resentment towards all those who challenge or could be seen to break up the traditional social and family structures. The weakly developed understanding of democratic values and minority rights is not just inherited from the Soviet Union.

2012 was a special year in terms of publicity of LGBTI community and LGBTI movement in all three South Caucasian countries. Several important steps have been made towards raising acute issues about sexual identity, differences/diversity and social constructs in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

In the history of the fight for LBGTI rights in the South Caucasus, 17 May 2012 is a milestone. On this internationally recognized day, a group of activists took to the streets in the center of the capital Tbilisi for the first time to demonstrate for the rights of sexual minorities.

In May 2012, when the Euro Vision Song Contest took place in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital presented itself as open and liberal. But there is also a second reality: The Azerbaijani society is deeply conservative. In many families it is still a shame when sons or daughters come out as homosexual. Some of them are faced with violence from their own families.

The topic of sexual orientation is still a taboo in the Armenian society. Anyone who differs from the traditional beliefs must deal with social ostracism and violence. The gay singer Armine Oganezova, also known as Tsomak, fled from Armenia this summer, because she had to be afraid for her life.

With intense financial support from Moscow and deepening economic ties with the Russian market, Abkhazia has a chance to be reborn after the devastating war with Georgia in 1992/1993.

Turkey has close ties to the Caspian region, Central Asian, and the Middle East. Its longstanding cultural, historic, and economic interrelationships in the area means that Turkey is an ideal intermediary for the EU in its efforts to develop an energy dialogue.

The Football game between Armenia and Turkey in September 2008 and sports diplomacy.

Turkey’s engagement of Armenia represents only one element of a more ambitious Turkish agenda. Turkey is now pursuing a new policy of deepening its ties to not only the countries of the Caucasus, but also of including the countries of Central Asia.

Etyen Mahçupyan, is a Turkish-Armenian journalist and writer. Since 2007 he has been the editor-in-chief of Agos, the Armenian community's weekly newspaper. In this interview he discusses the perspectives for Turkish-Armenian relations, the implications for the Caucasus, and his work for the Hrant Dink Foundation.

Right now, the only regional market accessible to Armenian exporters is Georgia. Two other neighbours, Azerbaijan and Iran, are well-nigh inaccessible to Armenian exports. Thus, opening the Turkish market to Armenia would greatly improve the country’s investment rating which is presently stymied by the narrow limits imposed on its foreign trade.

Opening the Armenian-Turkish border and establishing diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey will fundamentally change the relationship between all countries in the Black Sea and Caspian regions, as well as between the great powers for which the region is an area of vital importance.

Within Armenian political elites there is little to no opposition to rapprochement with Turkey. Many windows in Yerevan offer a good view of Turkey, and most Armenians realise that it is neither normal nor desirable to have two out of four land borders sealed.

Turkey and Armenia may be on the verge of a major breakthrough in bilateral relations. The border between the two countries, closed for a decade and a half, may soon re-open. What would an opening mean for the two countries? What has made the rapprochement possible? This dossier combines expert analyses and interviews with political leaders to give a deeper insight into a complex region.

On November 6-7, 2008 South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation and Bertelsmann Foundation initiated a strategic cooperation dedicated to "A European Strategy for the Southern Caucasus".

There can be no return to “business as usual” for as long as Russia acts as an occupying power in Georgia and refuses an internationally brokered solution to the conflict. The upcoming EU emergency summit must send a clear signal to this effect.

Only if Georgia succeeds in building a dynamic and attractive democracy, the populations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will have a real choice – between a democratic Georgia and an authoritarian Russia.