An Analysis of the Makkah Defense Pact
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Europe affairs commenting on the decision of the European Union to send about 100 police officers to Armenia to monitor the ceasefire on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has been violated many times before, said the decision may be more symbolic, but definitely it was taken with an aim of a stronger and more effective presence of the European Union in the Caucasus region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus and Turkey affairs, referring to the reports that Armenia has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, accusing the Republic of Azerbaijan of putting Armenians under racial discrimination “for decades” and this is contrary to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which both countries have signed and said: This move by Armenia will not be of much benefit to the country in the short term. This is because the procedure in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is such that after a complaint is filed by Armenia, the Court must approve its jurisdiction by a majority of votes, and if no such majority is formed, the Court will refuse to continue the proceedings.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs said: The most important challenge of the Karabakh crisis is that, despite the recent peace agreement, its future status is still ambiguous and unclear, and this could be the source and the beginning of a renewed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Strategic Council Online: Continuation of the military conflict between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which started on September 27, 2020 due to the military movements of the Republic of Azerbaijan to retake its territories, can be discussed from various points of view.
Dr. Shoaib Bahman – Expert on Russia Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Editorial—The Security Council of the United Nations, having passed four UN resolutions in the primary years of the 1990s, has delegated the issue of the return of peace to Karabakh to regional organizations in particular to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In 1992, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe set up a mechanism under the title of the “Minsk Group”, comprising of nine countries, to deal with the settlement of the issue. The Minsk Group is currently chaired by the United States, Russia and France. Even though the Minsk Group managed to organize a ceasefire between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Bishkek on 12 May 1994, it has failed during the past recent years to completely resolve the Karabakh dispute. Given the occurrence of two consecutive military confrontations since the beginning of 2020 with numerous dimensions, the issue of the performance and effectiveness of the Minsk Group is once again placed at the centre of the world’s attention.
Dr Shoayb Bahman, Expert of Russia affairs
Strategic Council Online – Editorial – The Karabakh crisis has no military solution and so these tensions should be immediately stopped. And any political solution or negotiation should be channelled through regional frameworks to be effective and productive. The internationalization of this problem would further complicate the conflict under circumstances in which international players are interested in continued crisis and escalation in this region.
Hasan Beheshtipour – International relations analyst
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Europe affairs commenting on the decision of the European Union to send about 100 police officers to Armenia to monitor the ceasefire on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has been violated many times before, said the decision may be more symbolic, but definitely it was taken with an aim of a stronger and more effective presence of the European Union in the Caucasus region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus and Turkey affairs, referring to the reports that Armenia has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, accusing the Republic of Azerbaijan of putting Armenians under racial discrimination “for decades” and this is contrary to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which both countries have signed and said: This move by Armenia will not be of much benefit to the country in the short term. This is because the procedure in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is such that after a complaint is filed by Armenia, the Court must approve its jurisdiction by a majority of votes, and if no such majority is formed, the Court will refuse to continue the proceedings.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs said: The most important challenge of the Karabakh crisis is that, despite the recent peace agreement, its future status is still ambiguous and unclear, and this could be the source and the beginning of a renewed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Strategic Council Online: Continuation of the military conflict between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which started on September 27, 2020 due to the military movements of the Republic of Azerbaijan to retake its territories, can be discussed from various points of view.
Dr. Shoaib Bahman – Expert on Russia Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Editorial—The Security Council of the United Nations, having passed four UN resolutions in the primary years of the 1990s, has delegated the issue of the return of peace to Karabakh to regional organizations in particular to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In 1992, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe set up a mechanism under the title of the “Minsk Group”, comprising of nine countries, to deal with the settlement of the issue. The Minsk Group is currently chaired by the United States, Russia and France. Even though the Minsk Group managed to organize a ceasefire between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Bishkek on 12 May 1994, it has failed during the past recent years to completely resolve the Karabakh dispute. Given the occurrence of two consecutive military confrontations since the beginning of 2020 with numerous dimensions, the issue of the performance and effectiveness of the Minsk Group is once again placed at the centre of the world’s attention.
Dr Shoayb Bahman, Expert of Russia affairs
Strategic Council Online – Editorial – The Karabakh crisis has no military solution and so these tensions should be immediately stopped. And any political solution or negotiation should be channelled through regional frameworks to be effective and productive. The internationalization of this problem would further complicate the conflict under circumstances in which international players are interested in continued crisis and escalation in this region.
Hasan Beheshtipour – International relations analyst
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Europe affairs commenting on the decision of the European Union to send about 100 police officers to Armenia to monitor the ceasefire on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has been violated many times before, said the decision may be more symbolic, but definitely it was taken with an aim of a stronger and more effective presence of the European Union in the Caucasus region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus and Turkey affairs, referring to the reports that Armenia has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, accusing the Republic of Azerbaijan of putting Armenians under racial discrimination “for decades” and this is contrary to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which both countries have signed and said: This move by Armenia will not be of much benefit to the country in the short term. This is because the procedure in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is such that after a complaint is filed by Armenia, the Court must approve its jurisdiction by a majority of votes, and if no such majority is formed, the Court will refuse to continue the proceedings.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs said: The most important challenge of the Karabakh crisis is that, despite the recent peace agreement, its future status is still ambiguous and unclear, and this could be the source and the beginning of a renewed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Strategic Council Online: Continuation of the military conflict between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which started on September 27, 2020 due to the military movements of the Republic of Azerbaijan to retake its territories, can be discussed from various points of view.
Dr. Shoaib Bahman – Expert on Russia Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Editorial—The Security Council of the United Nations, having passed four UN resolutions in the primary years of the 1990s, has delegated the issue of the return of peace to Karabakh to regional organizations in particular to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In 1992, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe set up a mechanism under the title of the “Minsk Group”, comprising of nine countries, to deal with the settlement of the issue. The Minsk Group is currently chaired by the United States, Russia and France. Even though the Minsk Group managed to organize a ceasefire between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Bishkek on 12 May 1994, it has failed during the past recent years to completely resolve the Karabakh dispute. Given the occurrence of two consecutive military confrontations since the beginning of 2020 with numerous dimensions, the issue of the performance and effectiveness of the Minsk Group is once again placed at the centre of the world’s attention.
Dr Shoayb Bahman, Expert of Russia affairs
Strategic Council Online – Editorial – The Karabakh crisis has no military solution and so these tensions should be immediately stopped. And any political solution or negotiation should be channelled through regional frameworks to be effective and productive. The internationalization of this problem would further complicate the conflict under circumstances in which international players are interested in continued crisis and escalation in this region.
Hasan Beheshtipour – International relations analyst
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Europe affairs commenting on the decision of the European Union to send about 100 police officers to Armenia to monitor the ceasefire on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has been violated many times before, said the decision may be more symbolic, but definitely it was taken with an aim of a stronger and more effective presence of the European Union in the Caucasus region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus and Turkey affairs, referring to the reports that Armenia has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, accusing the Republic of Azerbaijan of putting Armenians under racial discrimination “for decades” and this is contrary to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which both countries have signed and said: This move by Armenia will not be of much benefit to the country in the short term. This is because the procedure in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is such that after a complaint is filed by Armenia, the Court must approve its jurisdiction by a majority of votes, and if no such majority is formed, the Court will refuse to continue the proceedings.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs said: The most important challenge of the Karabakh crisis is that, despite the recent peace agreement, its future status is still ambiguous and unclear, and this could be the source and the beginning of a renewed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Strategic Council Online: Continuation of the military conflict between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which started on September 27, 2020 due to the military movements of the Republic of Azerbaijan to retake its territories, can be discussed from various points of view.
Dr. Shoaib Bahman – Expert on Russia Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Editorial—The Security Council of the United Nations, having passed four UN resolutions in the primary years of the 1990s, has delegated the issue of the return of peace to Karabakh to regional organizations in particular to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In 1992, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe set up a mechanism under the title of the “Minsk Group”, comprising of nine countries, to deal with the settlement of the issue. The Minsk Group is currently chaired by the United States, Russia and France. Even though the Minsk Group managed to organize a ceasefire between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Bishkek on 12 May 1994, it has failed during the past recent years to completely resolve the Karabakh dispute. Given the occurrence of two consecutive military confrontations since the beginning of 2020 with numerous dimensions, the issue of the performance and effectiveness of the Minsk Group is once again placed at the centre of the world’s attention.
Dr Shoayb Bahman, Expert of Russia affairs
Strategic Council Online – Editorial – The Karabakh crisis has no military solution and so these tensions should be immediately stopped. And any political solution or negotiation should be channelled through regional frameworks to be effective and productive. The internationalization of this problem would further complicate the conflict under circumstances in which international players are interested in continued crisis and escalation in this region.
Hasan Beheshtipour – International relations analyst
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Europe affairs commenting on the decision of the European Union to send about 100 police officers to Armenia to monitor the ceasefire on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has been violated many times before, said the decision may be more symbolic, but definitely it was taken with an aim of a stronger and more effective presence of the European Union in the Caucasus region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus and Turkey affairs, referring to the reports that Armenia has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, accusing the Republic of Azerbaijan of putting Armenians under racial discrimination “for decades” and this is contrary to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which both countries have signed and said: This move by Armenia will not be of much benefit to the country in the short term. This is because the procedure in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is such that after a complaint is filed by Armenia, the Court must approve its jurisdiction by a majority of votes, and if no such majority is formed, the Court will refuse to continue the proceedings.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs said: The most important challenge of the Karabakh crisis is that, despite the recent peace agreement, its future status is still ambiguous and unclear, and this could be the source and the beginning of a renewed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Strategic Council Online: Continuation of the military conflict between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which started on September 27, 2020 due to the military movements of the Republic of Azerbaijan to retake its territories, can be discussed from various points of view.
Dr. Shoaib Bahman – Expert on Russia Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Editorial—The Security Council of the United Nations, having passed four UN resolutions in the primary years of the 1990s, has delegated the issue of the return of peace to Karabakh to regional organizations in particular to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In 1992, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe set up a mechanism under the title of the “Minsk Group”, comprising of nine countries, to deal with the settlement of the issue. The Minsk Group is currently chaired by the United States, Russia and France. Even though the Minsk Group managed to organize a ceasefire between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Bishkek on 12 May 1994, it has failed during the past recent years to completely resolve the Karabakh dispute. Given the occurrence of two consecutive military confrontations since the beginning of 2020 with numerous dimensions, the issue of the performance and effectiveness of the Minsk Group is once again placed at the centre of the world’s attention.
Dr Shoayb Bahman, Expert of Russia affairs
Strategic Council Online – Editorial – The Karabakh crisis has no military solution and so these tensions should be immediately stopped. And any political solution or negotiation should be channelled through regional frameworks to be effective and productive. The internationalization of this problem would further complicate the conflict under circumstances in which international players are interested in continued crisis and escalation in this region.
Hasan Beheshtipour – International relations analyst
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Europe affairs commenting on the decision of the European Union to send about 100 police officers to Armenia to monitor the ceasefire on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has been violated many times before, said the decision may be more symbolic, but definitely it was taken with an aim of a stronger and more effective presence of the European Union in the Caucasus region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus and Turkey affairs, referring to the reports that Armenia has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, accusing the Republic of Azerbaijan of putting Armenians under racial discrimination “for decades” and this is contrary to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which both countries have signed and said: This move by Armenia will not be of much benefit to the country in the short term. This is because the procedure in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is such that after a complaint is filed by Armenia, the Court must approve its jurisdiction by a majority of votes, and if no such majority is formed, the Court will refuse to continue the proceedings.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs said: The most important challenge of the Karabakh crisis is that, despite the recent peace agreement, its future status is still ambiguous and unclear, and this could be the source and the beginning of a renewed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Strategic Council Online: Continuation of the military conflict between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which started on September 27, 2020 due to the military movements of the Republic of Azerbaijan to retake its territories, can be discussed from various points of view.
Dr. Shoaib Bahman – Expert on Russia Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Editorial—The Security Council of the United Nations, having passed four UN resolutions in the primary years of the 1990s, has delegated the issue of the return of peace to Karabakh to regional organizations in particular to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In 1992, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe set up a mechanism under the title of the “Minsk Group”, comprising of nine countries, to deal with the settlement of the issue. The Minsk Group is currently chaired by the United States, Russia and France. Even though the Minsk Group managed to organize a ceasefire between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Bishkek on 12 May 1994, it has failed during the past recent years to completely resolve the Karabakh dispute. Given the occurrence of two consecutive military confrontations since the beginning of 2020 with numerous dimensions, the issue of the performance and effectiveness of the Minsk Group is once again placed at the centre of the world’s attention.
Dr Shoayb Bahman, Expert of Russia affairs
Strategic Council Online – Editorial – The Karabakh crisis has no military solution and so these tensions should be immediately stopped. And any political solution or negotiation should be channelled through regional frameworks to be effective and productive. The internationalization of this problem would further complicate the conflict under circumstances in which international players are interested in continued crisis and escalation in this region.
Hasan Beheshtipour – International relations analyst
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on European issues said that France’s relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan have become tense due to the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Europe affairs commenting on the decision of the European Union to send about 100 police officers to Armenia to monitor the ceasefire on the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan, which has been violated many times before, said the decision may be more symbolic, but definitely it was taken with an aim of a stronger and more effective presence of the European Union in the Caucasus region.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: A senior researcher at the Presidential Center for Strategic Studies saying that the Russians do not have a similar Iranian perception of the level of threat that would lead to fundamental geopolitical change in the Caucasus, noted: If the corridor sought by Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan is created by military action or threat, the balance of power in the region as a whole will change, and Russia will certainly suffer greatly.
Strategic Council Online – Interview: An expert on Caucasus and Turkey affairs, referring to the reports that Armenia has filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice, accusing the Republic of Azerbaijan of putting Armenians under racial discrimination “for decades” and this is contrary to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which both countries have signed and said: This move by Armenia will not be of much benefit to the country in the short term. This is because the procedure in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is such that after a complaint is filed by Armenia, the Court must approve its jurisdiction by a majority of votes, and if no such majority is formed, the Court will refuse to continue the proceedings.
Strategic Council Online – An expert on international affairs said: The most important challenge of the Karabakh crisis is that, despite the recent peace agreement, its future status is still ambiguous and unclear, and this could be the source and the beginning of a renewed conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Strategic Council Online: Continuation of the military conflict between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia, which started on September 27, 2020 due to the military movements of the Republic of Azerbaijan to retake its territories, can be discussed from various points of view.
Dr. Shoaib Bahman – Expert on Russia Affairs
Strategic Council Online: Editorial—The Security Council of the United Nations, having passed four UN resolutions in the primary years of the 1990s, has delegated the issue of the return of peace to Karabakh to regional organizations in particular to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In 1992, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe set up a mechanism under the title of the “Minsk Group”, comprising of nine countries, to deal with the settlement of the issue. The Minsk Group is currently chaired by the United States, Russia and France. Even though the Minsk Group managed to organize a ceasefire between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Bishkek on 12 May 1994, it has failed during the past recent years to completely resolve the Karabakh dispute. Given the occurrence of two consecutive military confrontations since the beginning of 2020 with numerous dimensions, the issue of the performance and effectiveness of the Minsk Group is once again placed at the centre of the world’s attention.
Dr Shoayb Bahman, Expert of Russia affairs
Strategic Council Online – Editorial – The Karabakh crisis has no military solution and so these tensions should be immediately stopped. And any political solution or negotiation should be channelled through regional frameworks to be effective and productive. The internationalization of this problem would further complicate the conflict under circumstances in which international players are interested in continued crisis and escalation in this region.
Hasan Beheshtipour – International relations analyst
SCFR Online – Opinion: On Friday, August 7, the heads of state of three countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan – signed a text under the title “Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.”
Strategic Council Online – Note: The initiative to revive the Hejaz Railway, beyond being a transportation project, constitutes an attempt to redefine geopolitics, the economy, and Turkey’s regional position; however, its realization appears to face significant financial, security, and institutional challenges.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Strait of Hormuz crisis is no longer merely the consequence of a military confrontation, but rather a sign of the transition from the US-centered maritime order to a new energy security structure involving the participation of emerging and influential powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Iran’s active deterrence strategy, while increasing the costs of US intervention, has increasingly exposed the hidden rifts between Washington’s interests and those of the Israeli regime.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The escalation of verbal and strategic tensions between Turkey and the Israeli regime, although not increasing the likelihood of direct war, indicates the formation of a new order in West Asian geopolitical rivalries.
Strategic Council Online – Note: Recent developments in the political geography of West Asia, from rising tensions in the Persian Gulf to missile and drone activities in the Red Sea and the recent warning by Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, regarding the threat to freedom of navigation, indicate a key pattern shift; the US-Iran war has moved beyond the scope of a regional and local confrontation and has linked two vital passageways for the global economy: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
SCFR Online – Opinion: The Ukraine war was not merely a European crisis, but rather the starting point for the rearrangement of the global balance of power and a shift in the strategic behavior of great powers.
SCFR Online – Opinion: Great power competition is now pursued more in trade, currency, technology, and global supply chains than on the battlefields of military confrontation.