Japan’s renewed interest in the Middle Corridor: Has it faded?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising geopolitical tensions across the globe highlight the need for alternative trade routes less reliant on transit through Russia. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, which connects China with the EU, passing through Central Asia and the South Caucasus, has gained renewed focus as…

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2024 in review: Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation process

In 2024, Armenia and Azerbaijan have made substantial progress toward resolving their decades-long conflict, even as critical hurdles remain unresolved. Negotiations are currently divided into three main tracks: the peace agreement, border demarcation and connectivity. Each track has seen varying levels of success. Peace agreement  The first track focuses on peace agreement negotiations, which have been…

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Abkhazia’s political turmoil amidst deepening energy crisis

Abkhazia is facing a severe recession. Recent protests over October’s investment deal and the scandal of President Bzhaniya’s Russian estates coincided with a deepening energy crisis. These events are profoundly linked, showing once again Moscow’s leverage in the region. On October 30, Abkhazia and Russia’s Economic Ministers, Kristina Ozgan and Maxim Reshetnikov, signed a controversial…

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COP29 and a Potential Role of Azerbaijan in Future Climate Change Policy Efforts

The December 2024 edition of the IRMO Brief, authored by Gulkhanim Mammadova, deals with the 29th Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), held from 11 to 22 November 2024 in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan. This year’s COP has tried to address the persistent challenges of global…

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Eurasia Partnership Foundation Azerbaijan and Topchubashov Center present a Bosnia publication

On 14 December, Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Azerbaijan and Topchubashov Center presented their collection of articles on Bosnia and Herzegovina. The publication is part of the Study Trips initiative of the Eurasia Partnership Foundation, Azerbaijan: during the study trip, a cohort of Azerbaijani students visited Bosnia and Herzegovina this fall. Experts of Topchubashov Center, the partner…

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Rusif Huseynov visits Brussels within EU Visitors Program (EUVP)

On 2-6 December 2024, Topchubashov Center`s Director Rusif Huseynov partook in the EU Visitors Program (EUVP) and held a series of meetings with bureaucrats dealing with South Caucasus and particularly Azerbaijan in the EU agencies, such as European Parliament and European Commission. Besides the EUVP agenda, Rusif Huseynov attended NATO HQ and several Brussels-based think…

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Murad Muradov hosts researcher from Hankuk University (Korea)

On 5 December, Topchubashov Center’s Deputy Director Murad Muradov met with the Director of the Center for International Area Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (Korea), Dr. Jun Young Kand. They presented each other the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations and discussed academic exchange, joint research projects and events, as…

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