Is Russia Back to the Grand Chessboard: Niger, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Gaza

Minority Issues Research Institute (MIRI) is organizing a panel of experts from the regions affected by conflicts to shed light on these events and explore the extent to which they are part of the Russian geopolitical chess game. On July 26, Niger’s military overturned the president of the African country of the Sahel region. On September 19, Azerbaijan moved to take full control of the remaining Nagorno-Karabakh region from the Armenians. On September 24, more than 30 heavily armed Serbian men took over a small village in Northern Kosovo. Then, on October 7, the current ongoing war in and around Gaza began, rattling the entire Middle East region. The international community was surprised by the events, while in every case, the Russian military and paramilitaries were stationed nearby closely observing. It remains to be understood to what extent and how each case is related to Russian foreign policy goals. 

Join us please for a conversation about four recent international flash points with local experts.

Speakers:

Dr Angela Gapa (California State University, US)

Dr Nikoloz Esitashvili (Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, GE)

Dr Besfort Rrecaj (University of Prishtina, XK)

Dr Muhammet Koçak (Ankara Social Sciences University, TR)

Moderator:

Dr Mirsad Kriještorac (Minority Issues Research Institute, SK)

Opening words:

Dr Svetluša Surová (Minority Issues Research Institute, SK)

This seminar is organized by the Minority Issues Research Institute (MIRI)