The Regional Studies Center (RSC) hosted a group of 45 students and faculty from the College of Europe’s Natolin (Warsaw) campus for a briefing on “Security in the South Caucasus,” with presentations by RSC Director Richard Giragosian, RSC Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan and Dr. Sergey Minasian, the Deputy Director of the Caucasus Institute.
As part of the longer term effort to support innovative education in Armenia, the RSC offered an interactive presentation on Nagorno-Karabakh for a group of students and faculty at the international UWC Dilijan College on 10 March. The RSC offers a regular series of activities and events for the UWC Dilijan student body, both in Yerevan and at their Dilijan campus.
In an interview with the Lragir news agency published on 10 March, RSC Analyst Mikayel Zolyan offered a fresh assessment of recent developments in Armenian politics, with an analysis of the country’s transition to a new parliamentary form of government. In the interview, conducted in Armenian, Zolyan noted that the series of recent personnel changes is related to the strategy of the incumbent president to “strengthen his hold on power” and further argued that the president is now intent on “trying to reduce his dependence” on the ruling Republican party.
In an Armenian-language interview with the Armenian “1in.am” news agency on 9 March, RSC Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan assessed the broader context of the visit to Moscow of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian. Noting that the visit comes in the wake of a sensational Russian media leak of Armenian “military secrets,” Shahnazaryan also revealed that Russia has been steadily following a policy of “militarization” of the South Caucasus, which he contended was a serious threat to the delicate regional balance of power. He added as part of this Russian strategy, a series of public leaks, disclosures and statements also reveal a policy of “blackmail and intimidation” aimed at pressuring both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In the second part of an interview with Aram Sargsyan of the “1in.am” news agency, RSC Director Richard Giragosian assessed Armenia’s enhanced strategic significance, in the broader context of developments in the South Caucasus and the wider Middle East.