By Armen Grigoryan (4/27/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The upcoming parliamentary elections in Turkey should clarify whether Turkish-Armenian relations may improve in a short-term perspective, opening for a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and regional cooperation in the South Caucasus. Regardless of the outcome of the elections, it will clarify the fate of the Turkish-Armenian protocols signed in October 2009. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party seems capable of securing a majority in the newly elected parliament and to form a new government.

By Olof Staaf (4/27/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Russian Security Forces have reported that Israpil Validzhanov, who is also known as Emir Khasan, was killed on the night of April 18. Validzhanov was appointed head of Dagestan’s Shariat Jamaat after his predecessor Magomedali Vagabov was killed in August 2010.

According to the head of the republic’s Department of Investigation, Validzhanov and three other men were stopped by officers from the Federal Security Service and the Dagestani Interior Ministry at a checkpoint outside the village of Tashkapur in central Dagestan.

By Mina Muradova (4/27/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The three Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia held a meeting in Moscow on April 22 to discuss several issues related to the resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. An issue of special concern is the increased tension along the frontline due to intensifying cease-fire violations over recent months.

Observers said that tensions peaked when Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced his intention to be the first passenger on the first flight from Yerevan to a reopened airport in Nagorno-Karabakh.