Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to trade accusations about the destruction of cultural heritage in the territories in and around Nagorno-Karabakh that have recently reverted back to Azerbaijani control. A small garrison chapel built in 2017 to service the Armenian troops then in the town of Jabrayil is at the centre of the latest controversy.

President Erdogan’s initiative for a 3 + 3 regional co-operation format in the South Caucasus offers the possibility of opening up the region through an extensive network of land corridors. Not everyone has welcomed the initiative, but the prospect of turning a fragile region into a beacon of stability after a long period of instability and violence is a worthy aspiration, argues Fuad Shahbazov in this op-ed for KarabakhSpace.eu.

After weeks of uncertainty on the issue of the leadership of the Armenian armed forces, on Monday the formal procedures for appointing a new Chief of the General Staff were completed, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the army headquarters to introduce the new head of the army to fellow senior officers. On his part the new head of the army, General Artak Davtyan, has made it clear that the army intends to keep out of politics.

In an emotional address to the nation on the occasion of the start of the traditional Novruz holiday, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev addressed his countrymen from the city of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh, which has recently reverted back to Azerbaijani control following the 44-day Karabakh war.