Until recently, Astana did not give much thought to this dependency. Relations with Moscow were relatively warm; Kazakhstan was a member of both the CSTO and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Amid the recent chain of events, one episode stands out — the sudden phone call from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The corruption scandal in the European Union continues to dominate the attention of politicians and experts — unsurprisingly. After all, the investigation now targets Federica Mogherini, the former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Stefano Sannino, the former Secretary-General of the same service.

In recent days, virtually every significant move by Armenia’s leadership—both domestic and foreign—has been viewed through the lens of mounting pre-election dynamics. Preparations for next summer’s parliamentary elections have become the central factor shaping the government’s decisions.

The negotiating documents on Karabakh released by the Armenian government have, as expected, drawn the attention of both Azerbaijani experts and the broader public.

Karabakh remains Armenia’s dominant domestic political issue — a fact reaffirmed by the government’s recent publication of long-concealed negotiation documents on the conflict.

A rather strange appeal was recently published from by former US State Department Josh Paul and the Armenian National Committee of America signed by a long list of Palestinian and other organisations. The appeal did not praise peace coming to the Middle East, which has seen eight decades of conflict, but rather aggressively attacked Azerbaijan as unfit to be part of the planned 20,000-strong International Stabilization Force (ISF).

In recent months, debate within the European Union has intensified over a potential EU role in implementing the TRIPP project—the so-called “Trump Route,” which forms part of the Zangezur Corridor and fits into a broader system of transregional connectivity.

Five years ago, around these very days, a remarkable event took place. On December 1, 2020, the withdrawal of Armenian occupation forces from Azerbaijani territory was completed on the basis of the Trilateral Statement signed in the night of November 10 that same year.

The peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia is unfolding steadily, systematically, and consistently — and most importantly, almost entirely without outside mediation.