The foundations of Azerbaijan’s pragmatic foreign policy were laid by late President Heydar Aliyev in the early 1990s and, today, this has become Azerbaijan’s brand, i.e., the so-called “multi-vector” or “balanced” foreign policy strategy.

The stubborn decline of the Armenian government to cooperate with Azerbaijan in demining the formerly occupied territories is one major area where this approach destructive to regional peace and stability stands out.

Ukraine is set to be high on the agenda when US President Joe Biden holds a hotly-anticipated summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Switzerland on June 16.

If the EU and the West as a whole do not react harshly and adequately to Lukashenko's trick, then not only Putin, but also Lukashenko, or both, will wipe their feet about this collective West.

The speed and pragmatism with which the EU brokered an agreement to end Georgia’s recent political crisis deserves praise. The union should take this opportunity to reflect on the role of mediation in its democracy-support strategies, Panchulidze and Youngs write.

Enough time has elapsed since the inauguration of President Joe Biden in the United States to express certain opinions. Clearly, these views cannot be categorical. The reasons for such caution in assessments can be split into two: first, a period of several months is not a sufficient basis for drawing conclusions; and second, a radical change in the foreign policy of a country like the United States requires much more time and even more effort.

Some of the more radical, increasingly marginalised Armenian political figures have been actively speculating about - in an apparent attempt to appeal to their shrinking base and remain relevant – counterproductive territorial claims against Turkey. Their statements appear to be aimed at throwing a wrench into the inevitable restoration of diplomatic relations between Yerevan and Ankara.

A mark of the seriousness with which Washington regards Russia’s sudden troops build up on Ukraine’s border is that, after months of silence, it provoked new President Joe Biden’s first telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

These are truly momentous times in the history of the South Caucasus and all parties should be invested in saying “never again” to war and the destitution and violation of so many lives that result.