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RSC MONTHLY CLOSED BRIEFING

Briefings 26 January 2017

The Regional Studies Center (RSC) held its latest in a series of closed monthly briefings on Thursday, 26 January, with presentations by RSC Director Richard Giragosian and Senior Analyst David Shahnazaryan focusing on three main areas:

(1) an analysis of domestic political developments, including an assessment of the pre-election political context and an overview of the outlook for economic and political reform;

(2) an assessment of broader regional trends and developments, including an analysis of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process in the aftermath of the “four-day war” over Karabakh, and the outlook for Armenia-Turkey “normalization” in light of recent developments;

(3) a presentation of the policy implications of the recently installed Trump administration, with a specific focus on the wider repercussions on changes in U.S. policy both globally and in terms of the South Caucasus region.

Among the thirty-five participants, three ambassadors attended the briefing, including Brazilian Ambassador Edson Marinho Duarte Monteiro, Italian Ambassador Giovanni Ricciulli and Japanese Ambassador Eiji Taguchi, and Council of Europe head Natalia Voutova, joining officials from the Embassies of France, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Switzerland, along with representatives from the UNHCR, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Armenian Ministry of Defense, among others. Newly appointed Canadian Defence Attaché to Armenia, Colonel Shawn Bindon, also attended the briefing, coming to Yerevan from the Canadian Embassy in Moscow.

As an independent “think tank,” the Regional Studies Center (RSC) offers a regular series of monthly briefings in order to serve as a resource for the diplomatic community and international organizations in Armenia by providing an alternative source of objective analysis and information on a regular basis.

The two separate presentations are attached:

http://regional-studies.org/images/pr/2017/january/26/RSC_Monthly_Briefing_1.26.17.pdf

http://regional-studies.org/images/pr/2017/january/26/Assessing_Trump_Foreign_Policy_1.26.16.pdf

RSC MONTHLY CLOSED BRIEFING

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