The South Caucasus is again the focus of intense diplomacy. The European Union is launching an observer mission on October 1 in a bid to oust the remaining Russian troops from Georgian territory outside Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The United States, meanwhile, has dispatched Deputy Undersecretary of State John Negroponte to Azerbaijan -- a vital link in the oil and gas transit that bypasses Russia.
Two events over the past three weeks -- the landmark visit to Yerevan on September 6 by Turkish President Abdullah Gul and the resignation on September 19 under pressure of parliament speaker Tigran Torosian -- have again focused attention on possible fissures within Armenia's coalition government.
The war between Russia and Georgia has shifted the political landscape in the Caucasus and is prompting Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, three countries with long-standing disputes, to try to settle their differences, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said.
The five proposed members of the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Pact have no shared objective or vision that would serve as an incentive for setting aside their differences.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said he sees "a new opportunity" to resolve the fate of Azerbaijan's Armenian-backed breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In a move that analysts believe heralds an intensification of the rivalry between President Serzh Sarkisian and his predecessor Robert Kocharian, the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) is seeking to oust parliament speaker Tigran Torosian and replace him with a longtime Kocharian loyalist, Hovik Abrahamian.
If the historic visit by Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Armenia is followed by more diplomatic contacts and negotiations, it may prove to have been truly a far-reaching strategic event for the whole region. It will not only have a direct impact on Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but it will open up unprecedented doors for Armenia economically.
In an interview with RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that Turkey is "making a move" in the Caucasus and that his recent trip to Yerevan will "serve stability in the region."
RFE/RL's Armenian Service spoke to residents of the Armenian village of Akhurik, located on the railway line between Kars, Turkey, and Gyumri, Armenia, about what an open border and restored transportation links with Turkey would mean for them.
Two months ago, Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian invited his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to travel to Yerevan so they could watch together as their national soccer teams played a match. Since then, public opinion in both countries has been divided as to what lay behind the invitation, whether Gul would accept it, and whether he should.
When the news came that the Turkish and Armenian national soccer teams were drawn in the same group, it is hard to know whether Abdullah Gul foresaw that this small trick of fate would make him the first Turkish president in history to visit Armenia. But what we know for sure is that when he received the news that Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian invited him to Yerevan to watch the match together, his immediate reaction was positive.
Ever since the Turkish government closed its border with Armenia in 1993, the village of Akhurik has served as the end of the line for westbound train travel in Armenia.
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