Oct 11, 2017

Les Gardiens du Silence

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Les Gardiens du Silence, Tserakvi, Georgia © Onnik James Krikorian 2017

One of the standout bands at this year’s One Caucasus Festival in Georgia was undoubtedly the Baku-based Les Gardiens du Silence, a collective playing improvised world and spiritual music. They had also performed in Tbilisi a week earlier, and did so again soon after the festival, but it was their performances around a campfire at One Caucasus that was the most enjoyable.

After the festival I also interviewed one of the bands members when the band were back in Tbilisi. The band has a Facebook page here.

Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue – Flogging a Dead Horse?

Mar 7, 2025

Even though many believed a second Trump presidency was unlikely or even impossible, his re-election last November demonstrated how many people prefer to favour dreams over reality, transforming fears into self-fulfilling prophecies. This is a situation that can best describe how Track II diplomacy in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has been conducted over time.

Can Pashinyan’s “Real Armenia” Satisfy both Baku and Armenian voters?

Mar 5, 2025

The Center of Analysis of International Relations has just published my latest on the continuing impasse and discussion on Baku’s demand to remove the current preamble to Armenia’s Constitution that I’ve been consistently covering since late January last year. This has also includes pieces mentioning attempts by various commentators in Armenia and Azerbaijan including AIR’s Farid Shafiyev.