Azerbaijan
Turkey's "crazy" canal would impact Eurasian trade, geopolitics
The project threatens the delicate regional military balance.
Erdogan treads carefully as Biden recognises Armenian genocide
Massive fallout with Washington could “cause the Turkish economy to tank”, says analyst. US formal declaration “is a matter of truth, historical justice and security to the Republic of Armenia”, says Armenian PM.
Outrage in Armenia as Azerbaijan’s Aliyev threatens force to secure land corridor
Analyst says comments meant for domestic audience as well and that there are no credible military threats to “back up rhetoric” reminiscent of “Saddam Hussein”.
Azerbaijan fires info war salvo against Russia
After previously denying it, Azerbaijan now says that Armenia fired Russian-made rockets during last year’s war. And now they’re trying to make things difficult for Moscow.
M&A hits €8.5bn in CEE in Q1, says Mergermarket
Trend towards bigger deals and more fund investment continues, as deal value rises by half to give best Q1 since 2013.
Azerbaijan accused of fomenting ethnic hatred with display of dead Armenian soldiers’ helmets
Yerevan, meanwhile, moves towards putting on trial two men from Syria it claims served as mercenaries in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after being recruited by Turkey to fight for Baku.
Nakhchivan rail plans promise to rewire Caucasus connections
Iran stands to be one of the winners of the new regional transportation map.
CEE reels as third wave of COVID-19 breaks
A third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping through Emerging Europe. While Russia is expecting to reach herd immunity in the next two months, most other countries of the region have only just started their mass immunisation programmes.
Perspectives: Turkey and China – can Azerbaijan be the bridge?
Since shepherding Azerbaijan’s military victory last autumn, Turkey has been on a Silk Road charm offensive. The challenge is turning talk into action.
Analysis: Caucasus bond review
Capital markets take war, the pandemic and political unrest in stride. The second in a two-part series.
Rising inflation in Emerging Europe poses dilemma for central banks
With economies primed to rebound as pandemic restrictions are loosened, consumer prices could rise even further, reawakening an issue that has long been ignored.
Iranians become top foreign buyers of Turkish homes
Attraction of a passport for those who spend a minimum $250,000 is the driver.
Analysis in atomic scientists’ bulletin calls on Armenia to close “dangerous” nuclear power plant
Urges EU to step up efforts to persuade Yerevan time is up for Soviet facility located in earthquake zone.
ING: Commodity supercycle calls grow
It has been an exceptional month for commodity markets, with growing inflation expectations increasing investor interest in the assets. Meanwhile, fundamental developments, particularly in the oil market, have only provided a further boost.
ING: Oil prices at $60, now what?
There seems to be no stopping oil prices, with ICE Brent now trading well above $60/bbl. Clearly OPEC+ cuts are doing their job, while global recovery hopes are playing a big part. Will the oil price keep rising?
Abuse and hate speech against LGBTI people rises across Europe and Central Asia
Crackdown on democracy and civil society during pandemic accompanied by increase in hate speech by politicians finds ILGA-Europe report.
Turkey’s Q2 natural gas import prices set to rise, talks launched on Iran contract
Oil-indexed prices on track to rise substantially. Pipeline operator Botas is front-loading its 2021 take.
Petrostates to lose trillions of dollars in revenues amid clean energy push: report
New “wake-up call” analysis from Carbon Tracker looks at impact of shift towards lower-carbon energy.
