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An insightful new policy paper co-authored by RSC Analyst Mikayel Zolyan offered a fresh look at the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and provided several important new policy recommendations. Written with the support of the Oslo-based Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and co-authored by Artak Ayunts, Mikayel Zolyan and Tigran Zakaryan, the policy paper will be published as a peer-reviewed academic article, and is a product of several months of collaborative desk research, expert interviews and focus group discussions conducted in the Spring and Summer 2014 in Armenia.

Timed with the visit to Armenia of the Austrian Foreign Minister, RSC Director Richard Giragosian and Analyst Mikayel Zolyan offered analysis in an interview with the ORF (“Österreichischer Rundfunk”) Austrian national public service broadcaster. RSC staff covered broader trends in the region and offered their assessment of Armenia’s decision to seek membership in the Eurasian Union, but also noted the possibility of salvaging a relationship between Armenia and the European Union (EU).

http://oe1.orf.at/artikel/387012

In an extensive BBC analysis of the post-Crimean security landscape by Patrick Jackson on 9 September, RCS Director Richard Giragosian was cited and his analysis of the Karabakh security situation was published. In the BBC story, Giragosian noted that “situated to Russia's strategically vulnerable southern flank, the conflict over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh has emerged as perhaps the next flashpoint.”

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In an extensive interview with the Armenian “1in.am” news agency, RSC Analyst Mikayel Zolyan offered an in-depth assessment of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and assessed the challenges facing the OSCE Minsk Group in seeking to mediate the conflict.

www.1in.am/1422576.html

On 29 August, the Regional Studies Center (RSC) issued a brief statement in defense of the decision by Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian to attend the 28 August inauguration ceremony of Turkish President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  The statement, issued by RSC Director Richard Giragosian noted that “although I have been sometimes critical of the Armenian foreign minister in the past, I both welcome and defend his decision to attend the Turkish presidential inauguration.”  The statement went on to say that “the presence of the Armenian foreign minister was significant, despite the fact that Turkey has yet to establish diplomatic relations or open the closed border with Armenia.”  The statement then went on to specify several points illustrating the advantages of this decision and demonstrating how it strengthens Armenian diplomacy and foreign policy.