... And sometimes without much regard even for the interests of ‘passengers’.
Sergei Melkonian, Jason Wahlang:
India in the South Caucasus: Implications for Russia, Iran and Turkey
So far, the key problem in the Caucasus could be the lack of regional ... ... assume the success of Armenia’s drift to the West, this does not remove the problematic situation, as there are traces of Georgia correcting its rigid pro-Western course. Azerbaijan does not intend to get embedded in any structured integrations, preferring bilateral relations and pragmatics to values ...
... growth of innovative businesses.
Opportunities
Under-explored markets such as renewable energy, biological agriculture and high-tech;
Affordable and skilled labour resources available;
Possible regional cooperation between the three main countries - Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan - instead of seeking different alliances outside the South Caucasus
Threats
Remaining ethnic tensions (internal and external) and the constraint of continuous political repetition compulsion regarding the de facto autonomous territories;
Laissez-faire the corruption and cronyism at all levels of the ...
... Caucasus, the war of Russia and Turkey, etc. Another defrosting mechanism can be a regional war, which arose initially due to the escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh — Turkey, Russia and, less likely, Iran may be involved into a full-scale war of Armenia and Azerbaijan. This may also involve Georgia in these catastrophic processes. In this sense, the key to peace in the South Caucasus lies in Nagorno-Karabakh. The settlement or at least a deep freeze of this conflict can mitigate most of the regional military risks.
1
. Military Balance 2018. IISS. 2018. p. 187
2
. Ibid
3
. Ibid
4
. Ibid
5
. В ожидании бури: ...
... positive scenario
assumes that the EU and the EEU will steadily move towards creation of a common energy space (including the South Caucasus). Both integration blocs will have a sufficient level of trust to start the process of national legal harmonization in favor of creating common oil and gas markets.
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia will have to take necessary steps as well to join the common energy market. Armenia will take up the obligations of the ...
... and 19 wounded). In the second quarter of this year, there were 44 casualties (38 killed and 6 wounded). Many leaders of the Islamist underground, such as Aliaskhab Kebekov, the ringleader of the terrorist Caucasus Emirate, were eliminated
[6]
. In Azerbaijan, religious radicals have been split (in the southern part, they look up to Iran and Shiite Islam, while in the northern part – to Dagestan and the Salafi movement)
[7]
. Commenting on threats to the Georgian national security, Defense Minister Mrs. Tinatin Khidasheli said at the end of July 2015 that she did not expect the Islamic State to create any problems in Georgia
[8]
.
Experts also point out that the adherents of the specific, to put it mildly,...
