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Armenia under Pashinyan is accelerating its pivot toward the EU and the West, drawing explicit Russian threats over gas supplies and EAEU membership, while Turkey and Armenia move toward reconciliation and the US under Trump endorses Pashinyan ahead of elections.
Editorially curated conflicts and rivalries Caucasus is party to. Open a panel to see the specific friction points inside it.
The South Caucasus -- Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia -- at the intersection of Russian, Turkish, Iranian and Euro-Atlantic interests. The region carries several unresolved disputes: the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict centred on Nagorno-Karabakh, the question of Armenia's alignment between the Russian-led blocs and the European Union, the status of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, transit corridors across the region, and competition among external powers over influence, energy routes and security ties. It has seen repeated wars, including the Nagorno-Karabakh wars and the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.
Armenia's economy is being reshaped by a strategic pivot away from Russia toward the EU and Turkey. Pashinyan announced a plan to get rich, Armenia gained railway and trade access to the EU via Turkey, and Turkey and Armenia agreed to restart direct trade, while Russia threatened to cancel the gas deal and warned of potential problems with supplies.
Armenia is at the center of a geopolitical realignment, hosting a historic EU summit and receiving endorsements from Trump and Macron, while Russia heads for a showdown over Yerevan's European ambitions. Turkey and Armenia moved toward historic reconciliation, and four EAEU leaders expressed opposition to Armenia leaving the bloc.
Armenia is bolstering its defense posture amid shifting alliances, holding its first military parade in a decade and receiving new air defense systems from a neighbor. Russia's military base in Armenia stated readiness to strike Kiev, and Europe discussed expanding its own defense at a summit in Armenia.
A bitter church row and a surge in misinformation, including a fake Pride event and masked men, are dividing Armenian society ahead of elections. In Azerbaijan, the World Urban Forum in Baku focused on the global housing crisis, with the UN chief warning that no society is immune.