Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has laid out his country's blueprint to become a global transport and energy crossroads as the landmark 51st Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group entered its third day in Baku on Thursday. Hosted under the banner Regional Integration for Sustainable Prosperity, the four-day summit (16–19 June) draws more than 2,000 ministers, central bankers, Islamic finance leaders and private sector delegates from the bank's 57

Local time June 14, Armenia's Central Electoral Commission formally released the final results of the new parliamentary election. The ruling Civil Contract Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, secured an absolute majority of parliamentary seats with nearly half of the popular vote, granting it the mandate to form a government independently. Regarded as a de facto referendum on the country's future trajectory, the election concluded with Armenia explicitly o

Local time June 14, Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, and Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, held closed-door high-level working talks in Dilijan, Armenia. They conducted in-depth consultations on core issues including a permanent bilateral peace treaty, border control, livelihood resettlement in Nagorno-Karabakh and the construction of cross-border transport corridors. The two sides finalised regular dialogue mechanisms and agre

On 14 June, the meeting of European Union and Central Asian Special Representatives for Afghanistan was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan. As a vital hub linking Europe and Asia and extending its influence to South Asia, Central Asian states and the EU held in-depth discussions on three major themes: the evolving situation in Afghanistan, regional security governance and the development of cross-border transport corridors. The dialogue stands out as a notable event amid recent geopo

(For internal reference) As of 12 June, tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran in the Middle East have escalated rapidly, with the regional situation teetering on the brink of all-out conflict. Achieving a short-term ceasefire is proving difficult. A comprehensive report on the overall situation, the positions of the various parties, the knock-on effects and future trends is provided below: This round of conflict has escalated in stages since early this month. Is

On 9 June 2026, foreign ministers from Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia gathered in Istanbul for their tenth trilateral meeting, at which they signed the Istanbul Declaration. Built around four core pillars – connectivity, energy security, political mutual trust and security cooperation – the document not only marks a recap of over a decade of practical collaboration between the three nations, but also represents a deliberate reshaping of the geopolitical landscape across the S

Recently, Azerbaijan has steadily advanced practical cooperation with the United States and the European Union in energy and transport. A host of agreements have been signed and key projects are being pushed forward. Leveraging its superior geographical location and abundant energy resources, the country has further solidified its position as a pivotal hub in the South Caucasus, and relevant cooperation is reshaping the regional geopolitical and economic landscape. Bilateral

Analysis | International Affairs Correspondent 8 June 2026 Preliminary results from Armenia’s 2026 parliamentary election have delivered a telling verdict on the country’s political trajectory and delicate regional standing in the South Caucasus. According to preliminary data from all 2,005 polling stations across the nation, published by Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission and cited by the official Armenpress news agency, the ruling Civil Contract Party, led by Pr

As Armenia draws close to its parliamentary poll, the country’s domestic political contest has heated up considerably, with the ruling bloc and opposition locking horns over policy priorities, foreign policy direction and anti-corruption drives. Russia, the EU and the US have all waded deeply into Yerevan’s domestic and diplomatic affairs, alongside a spate of high-profile anti-corruption arrests, a police raid on an opposition news outlet and Armenia’s effective pullback fro

On June 3, 2026, with U.S. mediation, Israel and the Lebanese government reached a new set of principled ceasefire consensus, creating a buffer window for the intense cross-border conflict that has lasted for months. Compared with previous temporary truces, the latest framework specifies preconditions for ceasefire validity and pilot security governance arrangements for southern Lebanon, delivering greater institutional clarity. Nevertheless, judging from official statements

On June 2, the 180-kilometer upgraded section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, jointly constructed by Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, officially commenced commercial operation. Following the upgrade, the line's annual freight capacity jumped from 1 million tons to 5 million tons, quadrupling its transport capacity. As a key land-based backbone of the trans-Caspian corridor, this upgrade is not merely a single infrastructure project, but a phased achievement resulting from t

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has outlined his country’s dual-focused energy agenda while opening the 31st edition of Baku Energy Week, a flagship regional industry gathering drawing energy firms, diplomats and policymakers from across Europe, Central Asia and the Caspian basin. The keynote address laid out Baku’s ambition to cement its long-term standing as a dependable fossil fuel exporter while scaling up renewable power development amid global shifts in energy secur

A senior delegation from the US State Department has wrapped up a five-day working visit to Georgia, running from 24 to 29 May 2026. It is the first high-level diplomatic outreach by the current US administration to Tbilisi, drawing wide attention amid intensifying great-power competition across the South Caucasus. Headed by Charles Yockey, Special Assistant to the US Secretary of State, alongside Peter Andreoli, head of the department’s Russia and Caucasus affairs office

In recent days, Armenia has accelerated its efforts to integrate into the European Union, triggering a strong response from Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Over the past two days, member states of the Union have jointly imposed pressure, while Russia introduced trade restrictions, issued energy warnings and recalled its ambassador. The long-standing allied relationship between Armenia and Russia has suffered major setbacks, and the geopolitical situation in the

Astana, May 28 – The 5th Eurasian Economic Forum officially opened at the Astana EXPO Exhibition Center on May 28, 2026. Hosted by Kazakhstan, this flagship economic and trade event marks the country’s assumption of the rotating presidency of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) for 2026. Coinciding with the 12th anniversary of the signing of the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty, the forum gathered more than 3,000 representatives from government, business and international instit

The recent surprise visit of U.S. official Marco Rubio to Armenia, along with a brief meeting held at Yerevan Airport and the signing of multiple cooperation documents, has quickly pushed the geopolitical situation in the South Caucasus back into the spotlight of European communities. From a European perspective, every shift in diplomatic trends in this Eurasian hub is closely linked to regional security, energy circulation and trade routes. Armenia’s latest strategic move is

Yerevan, 26 May — A senior figure from Armenia’s opposition Prosperous Armenia Party has been detained on charges of treason and espionage, stirring fresh political unrest in the South Caucasus and triggering a sharp diplomatic response from Russia. Andranik Devanyan, the second-most influential member of the Prosperous Armenia Party and a well-known pro-Russia politician, was taken into custody by Armenian law enforcement on 25 May. Local authorities have formally accused hi

Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan has acknowledged that his country cannot retain membership in the Eurasian Economic Union while pursuing European Union accession. The statement marks a pivotal moment for the South Caucasus nation, which has long walked a delicate geopolitical tightrope. Caught between mounting pressure from Moscow and persistent overtures from Brussels, Yerevan is compelled to make a choice that will shape its national trajectory for decades to

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev hosted an informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Turkistan, attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Turkmen observers. No joint communiqué was issued after closed-door talks, which focused on regional security, economic connectivity and diplomatic coordination, marking a key move for Kazakhs

The global landscape is undergoing profound changes, with the once-in-a-century transformation accelerating and the strategic rivalry among major powers intensifying. The recent flurry of visits to China by heads of state from the United States, Russia and other nations clearly demonstrates that China has become the focal point of global strategic competition. Countries around the world are actively seeking to strengthen communication and engagement with China, pursuing pragm