Caucasus

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev (right) with Vasif Talibov (left), now former governor of Nakhchivan in an official meeting in 2017. On December 21, 2022 Talibov resigned from his ruling position in the country’s remote enclave after 27 years. The 62-year-old cited health concerns, but rumours had been circulating that the central government in Baku sought greater control on the region.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev (right) with Vasif Talibov (left), now former governor of Nakhchivan in an official meeting in 2017. On December 21, 2022 Talibov resigned from his ruling position in the country’s remote enclave after 27 years. The 62-year-old cited health concerns, but rumours had been circulating that the central government in Baku sought greater control on the region. © Azerbaijan’s Presidential Press and Information Office

Azerbaijan: “The Sultan” Steps Down

Longtime ruler of autonomous enclave resigns on health concerns, but observers maintain his exit was on Baku’s orders.

24 Jan 23

Armenia’s Russia Challenge

The limits of Moscow’s security promises now clearly demonstrates that Yerevan must adjust to a dangerous new reality of standing alone. 

18 Jan 23
Demonstrators face Russian peacekeepers in Ivanyan, a town about 10 kilometres from Stepanakert, where Karabakh’s airport is located. The airfield was renovated in the late 2000s and due to open for commercial flights in 2012 but remained closed due to security reasons, as Azerbaijan has threatened to shoot down flights. As the blockade continued, on January 5 Karabakh authorities called for support for operations of an air bridge “to prevent an urgent humanitarian crisis”.
Demonstrators face Russian peacekeepers in Ivanyan, a town about 10 kilometres from Stepanakert, where Karabakh’s airport is located. The airfield was renovated in the late 2000s and due to open for commercial flights in 2012 but remained closed due to security reasons, as Azerbaijan has threatened to shoot down flights. As the blockade continued, on January 5 Karabakh authorities called for support for operations of an air bridge “to prevent an urgent humanitarian crisis”. © Siranush Sargsyan/IWPR

Supplies Dwindle as Karabakh Siege Continues

Since December 12, the sole road to Armenia has been closed off, leaving as many as 120,000 people living under blockade.

9 Jan 23
Struggling to make ends meet in her native Armenia, Lilit (not her real name) was lured into a nanny job in Greece. Instead she found herself trapped in Istanbul, with no documents and forced into prostitution. According to the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), 68 Armenian citizens were identified as having been trafficked between 2017 and 2021.
Struggling to make ends meet in her native Armenia, Lilit (not her real name) was lured into a nanny job in Greece. Instead she found herself trapped in Istanbul, with no documents and forced into prostitution. According to the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), 68 Armenian citizens were identified as having been trafficked between 2017 and 2021. © Armine Avetisyan

Armenia: Trafficked and Exploited

The pandemic and Nagorny Karabakh conflict of 2020 have led to a steep rise in the number of Armenian victims.

12 Dec 22
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