The 18th Foreign Policy Talks series, which brings together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss current foreign policy issues, was held online by IstanPol on September 16, 2025. Organized in collaboration with the Istanbul Office of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, this session addressed the impact of the US-mediated peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Turkey and the region.

At the heart of the agreement are the Zangezur Corridor/Syunik Road, key to Ankara's trade strategy, and the Kars-Iğdır-Nakhchivan Railway. The agreement creates cautious prospects for Turkey-Armenia normalization and raises questions about regional trade, energy, and security, as well as the role of external powers such as the US, EU, Iran, and Russia. Within this framework, the event discussed a potential new order in the South Caucasus. What is the significance of this agreement as a potential turning point for the Caucasus? How might domestic politics in Armenia and Azerbaijan shape whether the corridor will serve as a bridge for integration or a new fault line? What does the agreement reveal about the role of external factors such as the US, EU, Iran, and Russia?

The meeting, moderated by IstanPol Foreign Policy Program Coordinator Riccardo Gasco, was attended by:

• Thomas de Wall, Senior Research Fellow, Carnegie Europe
• Nigar Göksel, Project Director, Turkey/Cyprus, International Crisis Group
• Rusif Hüseynov, Co-Founder and Director of the Topchubashov Center
• Pınar Sayan, Associate Professor, Beykoz University
• Olesya Vartanyan, EVN Report Columnist