Without Hard Power, Europe Cannot Play on the Caucasian Chessboard

Published on EGF: 26.02.2026

by EGF Editor

In an exclusive interview with Nicolas Tavitian for “Crossroads- Belgahay”, Dr Marat Terterov, Founder and Director of the Brussels Energy Club, and Co-founder of the European Geopolitical Forum, shared his analysis of the geopolitics of the Caucasus and of the European role in the region. They discussed the significance of US Vice-President J.D. Vance to Armenia and Azerbaijan, the prospects for peace between Armenia and its neighbours, the geopolitical balancing act that South Caucasus countries and other countries in Russia’s periphery must carry out to preserve their sovereignty and national security, Russia’s and Iran’s reactions to the US’s increased presence in Armenia and in the wider region, and the European strategy in the South Caucasus. In conclusion, he commented: “If you asked me what would the EU like to see in the South Caucasus, I’d tell you that they would like to bring Georgia back on the European accession path, to keep the energy partnership with Azerbaijan strong, and bring Armenia into a sort of pre-accession relationship. That might be part of a kind of a EU strategy towards the South Caucasus. But the biggest problem with that is the EU has never got its Russia strategy right. That’s not an easy task in our days whereas EU-Russia relations have gone to their lowest level ever”.