In December, Civilitas founder Vartan Oskanian was hosted by the Yerevan School of Political Studies of the Council of Europe. The school has semi- annual retreats in Tsakhkadzor, with invited lecturers participating. Vartan Oskanian was asked by the school to lecture to the young professionals, working in a variety of public and government organizations, as well as representatives of NGOs and journalists.

The topic of Mr. Oskanian’s lecture was “Armenia and the Changing Geopolitics of the Caucasus.” He talked about the recent developments in the region, as well as Armenia’s role and place in the future of the Caucasus. The Karabakh negotiations process as well as the Armenia-Turkey relationship were also part of Mr. Oskanian’s talk. One of the points was that in the light of recent developments both in the international arena, as well as the region, Armenia’s negotiating positions have weakened, and Armenian diplomacy need to be really sophisticated and attentive to try to avoid further complications.

The lecture was followed by a lively question and answer session. The nearly two dozen questioned Mr. Oskanian on issues ranging from foreign affairs, Armenia’s future with the EU, the Karabakh settlement process, and domestic political issues, including human rights, freedom of speech, and the issue of the jailed oppositionists.

The question and answer session lasted for more than an hour and ended with a group photo, before they met their next guest, Armenia’s Prime Minister.