Last week saw bands from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia compete in the semi-finals of a Metal Battle Caucasus to determine which three bands would perform at the final next month. The winner will get to perform at the Wacken Open Air Festival to be held later this year in Germany.
Last week, Caucasus Edition, the publication of the Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation, held another Zoom webinar, this time entitled “Rethinking Peacebuilding in the South Caucasus in Relation to the War in Ukraine.” Recently, there have been many commenting on what the Russian invasion might have on this region, though framing it as a need to reconsider peacebuilding strategies in the South Caucasus is an especially relevant one.
Cross-border projects in a conflict-riven region come in many forms, but perhaps the most overlooked has arguably been those in the area of culture. There have been some notable exceptions such as the CIS Youth Symphony Orchestra that performed in Yerevan and Baku as well as elsewhere, but otherwise most cultural events featuring both Armenian and Azerbaijani musicians perform in neighbouring Georgia.
Two weeks ago saw Tbilisi Jam! Fest 2015 held close to Lisi Lake. Featuring metal bands from the U.S., Europe, and Israel, the event also saw another instalment of the Wacken Open Air (W.O.A) Metal Battle Caucasus in which groups from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia competed to represent the region in the German music festival.
This year, Azerbaijani-Georgian communities across Georgia came together to celebrate Novruz with a variety of events and festivities.
Last weekend, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Shahin Mustafayev, called for the immediate return of those non-enclave villages controlled by Yerevan in the Gazakh region of Azerbaijan. On Tuesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the issue during a live press conference.
For a year, the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) has been deployed on the border with Azerbaijan, which it patrols regularly: a measure considered necessary by Yerevan – which fears a new conflict – but viewed with suspicion by Baku.