As part of its series of early warning alerts, the RSC released a brief “situational assessment” on March 13, 2014 offering concise analysis of reports of unusual troop movements in Azerbaijan, triggering concern in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh over a possible attack by Azerbaijani forces. The RSC Situational Assessment noted that “while some sources in Azerbaijan have confirmed these developments as part of a long-planned military exercise, other sources argue that the new, more assertive force posture may be in preparation for a new Azerbaijani incursion or reconnaissance probe of Armenian & Karabakh defensive positions.”

In an interview with Aram Sargsyan of the daily Armenian newspaper 168 Zham, RSC Director Richard Giragosian assessed the positive course of the Western diplomatic engagement of Iran, pointing out that as the process has “sidelined and demoted Russia,” Armenia will face “an entirely new situation, as Moscow, and no longer Washington, may become the more pressing challenge, and even obstacle, to the future of Armenian-Iranian relations.” The interview, in Armenian, also focused on the Western reaction to the Russian military incursion in Crimea and Moscow’s effort to undermine the new Ukrainian government in Kiev.

http://168.am/2014/03/11/339800.html

As part of a new strategic partnership between the Regional Studies Center (RSC) and the Yerevan-based “De Facto” magazine, a new RSC analysis on Armenia-Turkey was published in the magazine’s 10 March issue («Դե Ֆակտո» N92, 2014թ.). The analysis, entitled “The Armenian-Turkish ‘Normalization’ Process,” was co-authored with Tehmina Arzoumanyan of the “De Facto” staff and was published in both English and Armenian. The new strategic partnership between the RSC and the “De Facto” magazine (www.df.am) reflects a broader communications strategy in which the RSC seeks to elevate the level of public discourse and engage in a more balanced debate on issues of critical national importance.

http://www.df.am/news/1921/richard-giragosyan_92_14.html

The Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ, or “New Journal of Zurich”) Swiss German-language daily newspaper cited RSC Director Richard Giragosian in a report on the conflict in Ukraine. The report, written by Silvia Stöber, assessed how “Local conflicts (in the South Caucasus) shape the views of Ukraine.”

See: Stöber, Silvia, “Lokale Konflikte prägen den Blick auf die Ukraine,“ Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 7 March 2014.

www.nzz.ch/aktuell/international/auslandnachrichten/lokale-konflikte-praegen-den-blick-auf-die-ukraine-1.18257714

RSC Project Coordinator Haykak Arshamyan provided his assessment of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine for a special one-hour analysis television broadcast on March 4 by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Armenian Service. Arshamyan joined Boris Navasardyan, the Director of the Yerevan Press Club (YPC).

www.armenialiberty.org/media/video/25285903.html