Armenia
Macron backs Pashinyan’s European ambitions ahead of Armenia election
Show of support from French president and other European leaders reminiscent of backing for Moldova’s pro-EU president before 2025 election.
Slovak PM Fico confirms plans to meet Putin at WWII victory celebrations in Moscow
Isolated after Viktor Orban's election defeat in neighbouring Hungary, Robert Fico is expected to take a pragmatic approach to avoid isolation.
COMMENT: How Trump lost Europe in Armenia
Forty-eight European heads of state met in Yerevan on May 4 with no American present. The Yerevan EPC was the moment Europe stopped trying to prevent the transatlantic rupture and started managing it.
Is Russia quietly blocking the development of the Middle Corridor?
Mysteriously, the project to build the transit route’s most critical piece of infrastructure, Anaklia deep sea port in Georgia, remains stalled.
TCHAKAROV: Inside the seductive complexity of Armenia's election maths
At first glance, Armenia's upcoming elections may seem easy to dissect. They are anything but.
Russia would not accept military presence of outside powers in Central Asia, says defence minister
Andrei Belousov tells SCO meeting Moscow is “closely monitoring” moves made by “non-regional states”.
India cannot compete with Russia in defence export markets
India has traditionally been a major defence export market for Russia, and while being mostly a vendor - customer relationship between 1960 and 2000, it has now started to evolve in the 'beyond-visual range' era of multi-domain warfare.
Armenia’s pro-Russia opposition faces uphill battle despite frustration with Pashinyan
Armenia's fragmented, pro-Russia opposition appears ill-equipped to convert discontent with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan into progress in the polls, says Carnegie Politika comment.
Developing countries must not bear climate burden alone, Central Asian leaders say
Presidents tell Regional Ecological Summit in Astana the global shift to a low-carbon economy risks deepening inequality unless it is managed fairly with stronger support for developing countries.
Middle Corridor in play
Squeezed by a sanctioned Russia to the north and a war prone Middle East to the south, the Middle Corridor that runs through Central Asia and the Caucasus is back in play as the main route connecting Europe to Asia by land.
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Iran reopens six airports as commercial aviation resumes
Iran has reopened six airports including Mehrabad, Imam Khomeini, Mashhad, Birjand, Gorgan and Zahedan as commercial aviation resumes following the ceasefire with the US and Israel.
Armenia pushes semiconductor ambitions as part of high-tech growth strategy
Armenia is stepping up efforts to develop its semiconductor industry as part of a broader push to transform its economy through high technology.
Russia evacuates 175 Rosatom staff from Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant via Armenia
Russia evacuates 175 Rosatom nuclear workers from Iran's Bushehr plant via Armenia after April 4 strike near the facility killed a guard and damaged an auxiliary building.
CAUCASUS BLOG: Armenian PM’s Moscow pushback plays to a domestic audience pre-election
Nikol Pashinyan made unusually blunt comments to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow.
Armenian PM strikes combative tone in talks with Putin
Policy rifts over elections, security ties and Armenia’s geopolitical direction on show at joint press conference.
$2bn World Bank loan to eliminate Bosporus bottleneck in China-Europe trade corridor breakthrough
INRAIL project also a boost for commerce aross Central Asia, Caucasus and Middle East.
TCHAKAROV: Shockwaves from Tehran in the Caucasus and Central Asia
The spillover effects of recent developments in Iran have already begun to manifest themselves in ways that demand investor attention.
Armenia secures $300mn syndicated loan for AI data centre project
Six financial institutions agreed to finance Firebird AI’s artificial intelligence data centre project in Armenia.
Middle East conflict fallout to slow growth, push up inflation in Emerging Europe and Mediterranean region, EBRD says
Development bank says economic fallout is already spreading, through higher energy and fertiliser costs, damage to tourism and higher debt-servicing costs.
Why Russia’s targets in Emerging Europe are talking about the “Moldova playbook”
As critical elections approach in Hungary and Armenia this spring, the recent experience of Moldova is increasingly being brought up by politicians, analysts and election observers.