MAY 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia confirmed it will send a team to the inaugural European Games in Baku next month. Azerbaijan and Armenia are officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh, now controlled by Armenia-backed forces. Some athletes wanted to boycott the event.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)
MAY 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Russia met in Moscow to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations, once again underlining how Azerbaijani foreign policy has shifted away from the West.
At the meeting Azerbaijani foreign minister and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov signed a commitment to hold a series of consultations and meetings over the next couple of years.
Mr Lavrov described Azerbaijan as a strategic partner and said that trade between the two countries had increased by 16% last year.
Of course, Russia has to tread a fine diplomatic line in the South Caucasus where Azerba- ijan and Armenia are still officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh. Armenia is a firm Russian ally and hosts a major Russian military base. It is also a member of the Kremlin-led Eurasian Economic Union.
Perhaps as a teaser, Mr Mammadyraov said in an interview after the meeting that although Azerbaijani would consider joining the Eurasian Economic Union, it could never actually become a member if Armenian-backed forces occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.
“If Armenia withdraws its troops, if the borders are opened, if there is a normali- zation of the situation, if there is an economic component between Armenia and Azerbaijan, who knows what will happen tomorrow,” he told the Russia 24 TV channel.
The Eurasian Economic Union is a Kremlin pet project. Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Belarus are also members.
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(News report from Issue No. 233, published on May 28 2015)
MAY 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s government scrubbed the Armenian flag from a photo posted on its website of a parade in Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union, media reported. Azerbaijan and Armenia are still officially at war over Nagorno-Karabakh.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 5 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Relations between Georgia and Armenia threatened to sour after the speaker of the Armenian parliament, Galust Sahakyan, met a delegation from the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia in Nagorno- Karabakh.
Initially, Mr Sahakyan’s meeting with South Ossetian official Anatoly Bibilov, who was in Nagrono-Karabakh to monitor local elections, appeared to suggest some degree of official Armenian support for the rebel government. Tbilisi was incensed.
Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in 2008 over South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russia and a handful of crony states which want to curry support from the Kremlin — think Pacific Island states looking for aid handouts — have recognised their independence although Georgia still says it wants to reclaim the regions.
Georgia’s government called in Armenia’s ambassador to Tbilisi to explain Mr Sahakyan’s actions and later Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili spoke to Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan to avoid a diplomatic incident.
An Armenian government spokesman later said: “The meeting between Galust Sahakyan and Anatoly Bibilov was purely of private nature. No official issues were discussed whatsoever. A meeting between private individuals has nothing to do with political positions.”
The statement concluded by confirming Armenia’s support for Georgia’s claim over South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
APRIL 24 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko visited Georgia for the first time on April 23-24.
Officially, this visit, initiated by Minsk, was to strengthen Georgian-Belarusian relations. The parties signed 15 different agreements and declared that they want to boost bilateral trade from $65m/year to $200m/year.
But analysts think that this visit was planned to improve Lukashenko’s position at home, in Moscow and amongst western European leaders before the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus in November.
During his visit, Lukashenko once again expressed his support for Georgia’s territorial integrity. He also called for a better dialogue between the Kremlin and Tbilisi, and expressed hopes that Belarus, Georgia and Russia can someday live as “one family like before”.
The director of Georgian Institute of Politics Kornely Kakachia said Mr Lukashenko’s visit had some positive implications for Georgia because he expressed support for Georgia’s territorial integrity over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“But on the other hand, Lukashenko is a side player and does not have big influence on Moscow-Tbilisi relations,” he said. “Also, the president of Belarus is not the best company for Georgia to be seen with by the West.”
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(News report from Issue No. 229, published on April 29 2015)
APRIL 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Taliban forces have launched a series of major attacks on government checkpoints and bases in the previously stable Badakhshan region of northeast Afghanistan, media reported.
Badakhshan borders Tajikistan and its worsening security situation will alarm Tajik officials. They have warned that the Taliban may have designs on Central Asia once NATO forces leave.
Reuters reported that at least 18 government policemen were killed fighting Taliban forces in Badakhshan. Eight of them had reportedly been beheaded.
It also said that government forces had killed 19 Taiban fighters, suggesting that there had been a series of fairly major battles.
Spring marks the start of the fighting season in Afghanistan after the snow melts away allowing mountain passes to be crossed. This year’s season is being particularly closely watched to see how both government forces and the Taliban respond to the official end of the NATO combat mission.
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have said that they are all increasing security along their borders with Afghanistan.
Russia has also pledged more support along Central Asia’s borders. It wants to pull Central Asia more closely into its wider security reach.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan and Armenia blamed each other for more clashes along the border of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan said that five Armenian soldiers had been killed in shootouts; the Armenia-backed government in Nagorno-Karabakh said that one Azerbaijani soldier had been killed.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
NOV. 22 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia brought back the bodies of three crew members of a helicopter shot down by Azerbaijan earlier this month, media reported. The shooting down of the helicopter over the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh has heightened tension between the two neighbours.
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(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)
BAKU/Azerbaijan, NOV. 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kamal Hasanov is the owner of small tea house in a back street of Baku. His thick eyebrows and grey hair make him appear older than his 42 years. As a war veteran he’s holds particularly strong views on the Armenian helicopter shot-down by Azerbaijan on November 12.
“My TV set here is always on,” he said. “We come together for every news bulletin to see what’s going in Garabagh (Azerbaijani new for the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh). The helicopter incident made us even angrier at Armenians. Why did they dare to fly over our territory? What’s there purpose? They well-deserved this lesson.”
Baku said the helicopter was probing Azerbaijani defences along the frontline, while Armenia insists it was on a training mission. The truth, as is usual around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, is hard to decipher but, wherever it lies, the incident has triggered one of the most serious crises between Azerbaijan and Armenia for years.
In Azerbaijan, there was an air of triumph. On social media some people changed their profile pictures to the photo of the officer who shot downed the helicopter.
Vahid Guliyev, 28, was drinking tea. He said that he was sorry for the incident and for the officers who died, but that it was the fault of the Armenian government. “Armenia should be more careful,” he said.
Gulzar Muradova, 54, said he hoped the incident would not provoke conflict. He said: “Armenia should consider that Azerbaijan’s military budget is growing but, of course, nobody wants war.”
However, some people are expecting Armenia to retaliate. Arzu Quliyeva, 34, said that even if Armenia decided to retaliate, was within its rights to shoot down the helicopter. He said: “Why should the helicopter come that close? Isn’t there enough space in Armenia for training sessions?”
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(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)
NOV. 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a ratcheting up of tension, Armenia promised “grave consequences” after Azerbaijan shot down one of its military helicopters. Azerbaijan said that the Armenian helicopter had attacked its positions. Armenia said it had been on a training exercise.
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(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)