Vali Kaleji

Challenges to Horizontal and Vertical Expansion of SCO

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which is considered as one of the regional mechanisms of Eurasia is in a very sensitive situation. Over the past twenty years the organization has experienced a significant horizontal expansion (acceptance of members) and vertical expansion (goals and tasks)....

Vali Kaleji

Model of 5+1 in Central Asia: Iran Needs to Manage Its Balanced Approach in Diplomacy

In the political literature of recent years, the term 5+1 was more than anything else associating with the combination of the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany in the course of the nuclear negotiations with Iran, but over the past two years, 5+1 has also found another meaning,...

Vali Kaleji

Reasons behind Central Asian and Caucasian Leaders' Participation at Riyadh Summit

In the Arab-Islamic-American Summit with the presence of Donald Trump, the President of the United States, and more than fifty heads of Arabic and Islamic countries held in the International Exhibition and Convention Center in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, on 21 May 2017, the fact that ...

Vali Kaleji

Caucasus in Iran's Foreign Policy: Legacies and Prospects

President Hassan Rouhani came to power in August 2013 while Iran was facing with serious challenges in the Caucasus region. “Securitization of Iran” and the intensification of “Iranophobia”, the fact that the great powers put pressure on the countries of the region to decrease ...

Vali Kaleji

Why Minister Zarif's Visit to Georgia Was (And Is) Important?

  There are two balancing forces in the South Caucasus region. The Russian Federation serves as the external balancing force of the region, and the Republic of Georgia plays the role of internal balancing force in the South Caucasus. The Russian Federation relying on its traditional influence ...

Vali Kaleji

Long Season of Republicanism in Armenia

The sixth parliamentary elections in Armenia was held on April 2, 2017 to choose the composition of the National Assembly, as Armenians call it “Azgayin zhoghov”, but this election was more than anything affected by the amendments to the constitution of Armenia and the political restructuring ...

Vali Kaleji

Iran, Azerbaijan and New Developments in the Field of Energy

  As passions on oil and gas resources of the Caspian Sea subsided, the fact that more realistic statistics are given for the volume of reserves, and multinational companies are more discreet to enter this area in line with the global decline in oil and gas prices have all reduced the level of ...

Vali Kaleji

Referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh Region 2.0

  The level of political and military developments occurring in the last two years in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh is unprecedented since the Bishkek protocol was signed on May 8, 1994 which led to a ceasefire in the region. In the latest political developments in the disputed area,...

Vali Kaleji: 'Any participation of Armenia in the Iranian energy plans is inherently valuable'

  Over the past years, Tehran has sought closer economic and political ties with Georgia and Azerbaijan, which have intensified after the sanctions were lifted. In contrast, Iran’s energy pipeline ambitions have hitherto been designed to bypass Armenia due to its deepening dependence on ...

Vali Kaleji: 'Armenian-Iranian relations could set a good example for the world on how Muslim and Christian countries can reach peaceful symbiosis living side by side'

Vali Kaleji, senior fellow at IRAS, sat down a week ago with Tert News Agency for a brief interview about  the importance of the President Rouhani's  upcoming official trip to Armenia and what role Iran could take to resolve the regional conflicts. This interview has been edited for ...

Vali Kaleji

Prospect of Change and Reforms in a Post-Karimov Uzbekistan

It is really difficult to certainly talk about the outlook and future changes or reforms in Uzbekistan after Islam Karimov. However, it can be predicted that this Central Asian country will not be the same as Uzbekistan of Karimov era. Possible attempt of Islam Karimov’s successor for playing ...

Vali Kaleji

Pakistan Gets the Better of Iran on One Belt, One Road Initiative

Chinese Silk Road has two land and maritime routes, one of the characteristics of the land route may be considered as its east–west orientation which intersects with new Silk Road of the USA with its north–south orientation (Central Asia–Afghanistan and South Asia). But the Chinese ...

Vali Kaleji

SCO Summit in Tashkent and the Iran Question

Considering the 10-year-old experience of Iran’s observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) since 2005, which has included formal submission to join the block in 2008, continuous follow-up from member states, in particular China and Russia, the SCO nod to India and Pakistan ...

Vali Kaleji

Iran’s Regional Standing in US New Silk Road Strategy at Central and Southern Asia

As one of the historical symbols of Central Asia and its surrounding areas, “Silk Road” attracted the attention of the US policymakers for the first time in the second term of Bill Clinton’s administration as the “Silk Road Strategy Act of 1999” which was then pursuit ...

Vali Kaleji

What Tajikistan and China Think about Iran’s Full Membership in SCO?

Considering the 10-year-old experience of Iran’s observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) since 2005, Iran has always been interested in being a permanent member. However, what went on in the three important meetings of National Coordinators (April 22, 2016), Foreign Ministers ...

Vali Kaleji

Goals of US New Silk Road Strategy

New Silk Road Strategy (NSRS) is on Obama administration’s agenda with the purpose of liberalization of trade flow, acceleration of economic cooperation, increasing trade volume, and improvement of human relations between Central Asia and South Asia, centered by Afghanistan. Generally, the main ...

Vali Kaleji

How to Minimize the Conflict Potential in the South Caucasus?

The collapse of the Soviet Union at late 20th century was one of the most important events in the international political history since the Westphalia Peace Treaty, when the first pillars of the international system were formed. The event resulted in a systemic transformation of the international ...

Vali Kaleji

Iran and Armenia: From the Historical Links to the Strategic Requirements

Iran’s approach to Armenia as the only Christian neighboring country is a national, cultural, and historical one and an example of successful relations in the foreign policy area after the Islamic Revolution. Moreover, among the 15 neighboring countries, the mutual relations between Iran and ...

Vali Kaleji

Shanghai Cooperation Organization and New Extremism: ISIL, Central Asia and Afghanistan after 2014

Withdrawal of a major part of the US, NATO members and ISAF forces in late 2014 from Afghanistan is among the significant developments followed by special consequences for Afghanistan, Central Asia and the peripheral regions including emerging New Extremism such as ISIL in these regions. This trend ...

Vali Kaleji

Reasons and Dimensions of Recent Crisis in Karabakh

The name of Karabakh, instead of being a reminder of its beautiful nature as well as historical and cultural characteristics, has mostly come to be associated with one of the most lasting ethnic disputes over the past few decades, which in the political literature of the Caucasus region and usually ...