RSC Director Richard Giragosian offered comments for Nadia Beard’s analytical article, “The Rise and Fall of Ruben Vardanian,” published on 11 March by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

RSC Director Richard Giragosian participated in an online briefing on the outlook for Armenia-Turkey normalization and broader regional developments on 10 March, moderated by Professor Mitat Celikpala of Kadir Has University in Istanbul and with fellow speakers Tom de Waal of Carnegie and Zaur Shiriyev, the Baku-based analyst for the International Crisis Group (ICG).

The online briefing was sponsored by the Ankara Policy Center (“Ankara Politikalar Merkezi” or APM) and the Istanbul-based Global Relations Forum (GRF or “Global İlişkiler Forumu”).

Following a staff visit to Turkey, the Regional Studies Center (RSC) convened its latest monthly analytical briefing on 1 March, with a focus on recent developments related to Armenia-Turkey “normalization” and “earthquake diplomacy.”  The briefing also offered an assessment of the Azerbaijani-imposed siege of Nagorno Karabakh, the state of diplomacy between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and broader issues of Armenian-Russian relations and Western (EU and US) engagement in the region.  RSC staff, including RSC Research Fellow Emily Babakanian Frazier and Project Manager Zara Sahakyan, coordinated the briefing by RSC Director Richard Giragosian.  Project partners from CivilNet and the Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) working with the RSC on Armenia-Turkey normalization were also present.

Introduction

This annual report of worldwide threats to the national security of the United States responds to Section 617 of the FY21 Intelligence Authorization Act (Pub. L. No. 116-260). This report reflects the collective insights of the Intelligence Community (IC), which is committed every day to providing the nuanced, independent, and unvarnished intelligence that policymakers, warfighters, and domestic law enforcement personnel need to protect American lives and America’s interests anywhere in the world.

This assessment focuses on the most direct, serious threats to the United States during the next year.

As an independent “think tank” in Armenia, the Regional Studies Center (RSC) regularly cooperates and collaborates with institutional partners outside of Armenia.  One such partner is the “Free Russia Foundation,” an international organization supporting civil society and democratic development in Russia.