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Articles by Dennis Sammut
Monday Commentary: PEACE IN OUR TIME?
Making peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan was never going to be simple, nor easy, nor quick. It is taking time, writes Dennis Sammut in this Monday Commentary. “There is a sense of realism coming from the leaders of the two countries – president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and prime minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, that frankly, is necessary and welcome”, he writes.
Monday Commentary - Merz: "If Germany wavers, Europe wavers; if Europe wavers, Ukraine wavers”
Popular Editor's choice This is a members’ functionality. Please Sign up Interview Trending Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community.
Monday Commentary: On Ukraine, Europe must remain united and resolute
The war in Ukraine rages on, and the constant pounding of Kyiv by Russian drones and missiles, is a reminder that this is not a war being fought in some far away border region. The war turned out very different from the one Vladimir Putin had envisioned when he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Two factors caught the Russians by surprise: the first was the readiness of the Ukrainian people to resist. At first this caught the west by surprise too.
Thursday Interview: Benyamin Poghosyan
It has been a little over a year since Armenia and Azerbaijan initialed a peace agreement in Washington, and the mood in the South Caucasus is neither breakthrough nor stalemate. A government-facilitated Peace Bridge initiative has brought dozens of citizens across the border in both directions, and Armenia can now import goods from Russia via Azerbaijani territory.
Obituary: Richard Giragosian
Trending Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue.
Monday Commentary: “The barren rocks of Aden” and “These lands of Yemen are so ruthless”
There are two early 20th century tunes that mark foreign attempts to occupy and “pacify” Yemen. The Scottish tune “The barren rocks of Aden” marks the mobilization of Highland soldiers, enlisted to be deployed to the Yemeni port of Aden, that in 1837 became the last colony to be incorporated in the British Empire.
Monday Commentary: For the Arab states of the Gulf the US-Iran war is a big test of their resilience
On 28 February, Donald Trump connived with Israel to attack Iran, thinking that the US military strength will easily sweep away the Islamic Republic. He did so without seeking the views of experts within the American bureaucracy, getting the necessary congressional and cross-party support, and importantly without consulting with his allies in the region, in NATO, and beyond. The result has been a terrible and costly failure.
Monday Commentary: European-Azerbaijan relations need an intensive and multifaceted dialogue that is frank and honest
Dennis Sammut is the Director of LINKS Europe Foundation, and Managing Editor of commonspace.eu. He writes Monday Commentary every week for commonspace.eu Last week I visited Baku, Azerbaijan. My first visit there was in 1996, and I have been visiting regularly since. My visit was relatively short, but very intensive, and I had many meetings with stakeholders and colleagues.
Monday Commentary: Where does 100 days of war in the Middle East leave everyone?
Popular Editor's choice This is a members’ functionality. Please Sign up Interview Trending Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community.
Monday Commentary: Putin must not be allowed to turn Armenia into his next irresponsible adventure
Monday Commentary is written weekly by Dr Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe and Managing Editor of commonspace.eu Parliamentary Elections are scheduled to be held in Armenia next Sunday (7 June). The Armenians will vote for a new parliament, and the leader of the winning party will become the prime minister, and will form the government.
Monday Commentary: The end of empires?
This Monday Commentary was written by Dr Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe and Managing Editor of commonspace.eu Empires tend to self-destruct. They peak to greatness and military might, and then gradually decline, either as a result of military defeats, or internal discord, or more likely a mix of both. Decline can take along time. The Roman Empire, first split in two and the Eastern part survived until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Monday Commentary: July Ankara summit will define NATO for the next decade
Trending Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue.
TO PLAY THE KING
Popular Editor's choice This is a members’ functionality. Please Sign up Interview Trending Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community.
Monday Commentary: The Pope and the President
Dr Dennis Sammut is the Director of LINKS Europe and Managing Editor of commonspace.eu. His Monday Commentary are published weekly on this site. I was raised up as a Catholic, but I stopped practicing in my teens.
Monday Commentary: Despite the bleakness of the current situation, the Gulf must prepare for tomorrow
Popular Editor's choice This is a members’ functionality. Please Sign up Interview Trending Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community.
Monday Commentary: As war in the Middle East rages on, it is necessary to keep sight of the big picture, and seek bold and ambitious solutions
The war in the Middle East goes on. Most countries, governments and people think it was unnecessary and unjustified. The person who started it, and who has the power to stop it quickly, Donald Trump, has as much as admitted he had not thought the whole thing through properly. This war has already deformed the Middle East in ways we are just starting to understand. Its negative impact on the world, even if it stops tomorrow are going to be deep and long lasting. Some will despair.
Monday Commentary: The war nobody wanted, but that may end up harming everybody
The war nobody wanted, but that may end up harming everybody The war of the United States and Israel against Iran has entered its third week. Not a very long time, some would say, but enough already to have changed the Middle East, not in any good way. As the BBC veteran Security Correspondent, Frank Gardner, put it, the war has put a shadow over the whole region. Nobody, except for Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted this war, not even Donald Trump.
Monday Commentary: Europe must keep focused on Ukraine, whilst upping its diplomatic role in the Middle East
The crises unleashed by the US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February is now in the second week. The Islamic Republic of Iran is taking a battering, but shows no sign of collapse. It has a chosen a new Supreme Leader – the son of the one killed at the start of the US/Israeli attack, and is preparing for a long fight. There are ninety million Iranians, most of who are likely to rally around the flag, and defend their country.
Monday Commentary: Europe’s deadly war enters its fifth year
This week marks the fourth anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked attack and invasion of Ukraine, sparking a deadly European war. Despite the fact that only Ukrainian soldiers are fighting the Russian aggression, this war is a European war. Its outcome will have consequences throughout the continent. This has been a deadly war. Tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides have been killed. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced.
Monday Commentary: Armenians and Azerbaijanis are carving a new South Caucasus
For many years, the international community was telling the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to prepare their populations for peace. Instead, they prepared them for war, which eventually came in 2020, followed by a period of uncertainty. In the last year the two sides turned the page. In March 2025 they agreed the elements of a peace agreement. On 8 August, at a historic meeting in the White House, this agreement was initialed.
Monday Commentary: It is time for Iran to turn the page
One slogan at a pro-democracy Iran rally held in Berlin, one of many that took place in Europe this weekend, caught my attention. It said “No Shah, no Mullahs”. It caught the dilemma of many Iranians, inside and outside the country, that are being forced into a false choice between the present clerical regime, and the “Shah”, the son of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who ruled Iran from 1941 until the 1979 revolution. For most of the time, and certainly since 1953, the Shah was absolute ruler.
Monday Commentary: The European Political Community has the potential to respond to Europe’s changing needs in defence and security
They say that a week is a long time in politics, and the time since the European Political Community (EPC) was established in October 2022, may now seem like an eternity. The war in Ukraine, that triggered the establishment of the EPC drags on, and continues to define Europe. Everything else has changed. When the EPC was established, many yawned, and saw it as yet another useless talking shop.
Briefing: In the Gulf, the British “peace” ended sixty years ago, but the Saudi “peace” has not yet replaced it
Relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have in the last decade, been competitive. Led by two ambitious but visionary men – both named Mohammed: MBS – Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia; and MBZ – Mohammed bin Zayed, the Ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the Emirates, the two Gulf neighbours embraced many aspects of modernity, and moved hurriedly to turn their countries into global vanguards. Yet up to now, competition was kept within bounds.
Monday Commentary: Donald Trump’s useless prattle hurts people, and spoils decades-long relations
Donald Trump’s useless prattle hurts people, and spoils decades-long relations Donald Trump talks a lot. Speech is his weapon of choice, and attack is his strategy. Dangerous stuff if you happen to be the president of the United States, and have a huge and well-equipped military machine at your disposal in case you want to put words in action. But it does not require a shot to be fired for a lot of people to get hurt, and for relations built over decades to be spoilt. Trump was is Davos last week.
Monday Commentary: The situation around Greenland brings out the best of Europe, and the worst of Trump‘s United States
Donald Trump continues to claim Greenland, not on the basis of any legal, historical or moral reason, but just because, as he says, “we must have it”. Greenland is a self-governing territory, part of the Kingdom of Denmark which has three constituent parts: mainland Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Copenhagen is responsible for Greenland’s defence and foreign affairs. Trump’s claim is so absurd, that initially it was not taken seriously.
Monday Commentary: 2025 was a momentous year for the South Caucasus
The year 2025 has ended up being a momentous year for the South Caucasus. Armenia-Azerbaijan relations have been redefined, and that has consequences for the whole region, and beyond. That huge development overshadowed key moments in the domestic trajectory of the two countries, that however have deep consequences for the two countries, and even beyond. It has also been a tumultuous year for Georgia too. The country has been gripped in political crisis throughout 2025, with no obvious end in sight.
Monday Commentary: Multilateralism remains the best option, but the rules have changed
To listen to world leaders speaking these days, one would think that the world has embraced multilateralism, as the guiding principle in international relations. From Brussels to Beijing the concept is lauded, often to distinguish countries or groups of countries from Trumpian America, which has turned multilateralism into a bogey, and often a punching bag. But a closer look indicates that many countries are talking at cross-purposes.
Monday Commentary: Europe still needs the OSCE
The Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) will have its annual meeting in Vienna on 4-5 December. Foreign Ministers from the 57 member states, which also include the United States and Canada, and the Central Asian republics, and 11 partner countries, will congregate to discuss the future of European Security at a time when many believe that war in Europe over the next decade is likely. Ukraine is just a rehearsal for Russia’s ultimate ambitions.
Monday Commentary: Europe needs to continue supporting Ukraine fully in the crucial coming year
Talks were held in Geneva on Sunday (23 November) between the United States and Ukraine. Also present in Geneva were representatives of the key European countries, France, Germany and UK, and the EU. The talks are expected to continue today. The future if Ukraine is at stake, and so is the future of Europe. There should be no doubt that Putin’s ambitions do not stop in Kiev. The talks are expected to continue today (24 November), and Ukraine’s de facto capitulation is not an option for Europe.
Monday Commentary: You heard about the G7. But have you heard about the G2?
Countries that want to work together usually establish collaborative platforms, which enable them to meet regularly, co-ordinate positions and, if necessary take common action. The G7 is one such platform. It is made up of the seven leading industrialized countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union, and has been going since 1975.
You heard about the G7. But have you heard about the G2?
Countries that want to work together usually establish collaborative platforms, which enable them to meet regularly, co-ordinate positions and, if necessary take common action. The G7 is one such platform. It is made up of the seven leading industrialized countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union, and has been going since 1975.
Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the way to peace, but the process is far from complete or irreversible
Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the way to peace, but the process is far from complete or irreversible. The long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which had been going on for three decades, appears to be coming to an end. After a short war which left many dead or injured, and a military operation which saw hundreds of thousands of Armenians leaving Azerbaijani territory, hundreds of thousands of displaced Azerbaijanis could start returning home.
Monday Commentary: Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the way to peace, but the process is far from complete or irreversible
Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the way to peace, but the process is far from complete or irreversible. The long conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which had been going on for three decades, appears to be coming to an end. After a short war which left many dead or injured, and a military operation which saw hundreds of thousands of Armenians leaving Azerbaijani territory, hundreds of thousands of displaced Azerbaijanis could start returning home.
Monday Commentary: Sudan, a failed state that requires help
Sudan in context In todays’ crowded field in international relations, Sudan hardly is ever in centre stage. These days news, in the mainstream western media at least, is where Donald Trump decides to focus. But the events of the last days in Sudan were too grotesque to ignore. The rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), finally won complete control over the Southern region of Darfur, overrunning the last base of the Khartoum government army (SAF), in EL Fasher.
Monday Commentary: Forged in fire: Volodymyr Zelensky has defined the new Ukraine
When Volodymyr Zelensky ran for office to become president of Ukraine in 2019, many did not take him seriously. Here was a person who had become famous as an actor, playing the role of an imaginary president in a television soap opera, wanting to get the real thing. Yet from the outset, the opinion polls were telling a different story, and he emerged as one of the front runners in the election, even before he formally announced his candidacy.
Forged in fire: Volodymyr Zelensky has defined the new Ukraine
When Volodymyr Zelensky ran for office to become president of Ukraine in 2019 many did not take him seriously. Here was a person who had become famous as an actor, playing the role of an imaginary president in a television soap opera, wanting to get the real thing. Yet from the outset the opinion polls were telling a different story, and he emerged as one if the front runners in the election, even before he formally announced his candidacy.
Monday Commentary: Multilateralism is still the only way forward, and the EU can, and should lead
Multilateralism: the concept whereby countries work together on common tasks and challenges, regardless of disagreements, seems currently out of favour.
Multilateralism is still the only way forward, and the EU can, and should lead
Multilateralism: the concept whereby countries work together on common tasks and challenges, regardless of disagreements, seems currently out of favour.
Monday Commentary: The Palestinian people in Gaza need peace now
“The people of Gaza have suffered enough”. I have heard this opinion often, from many people, of different backgrounds and different persuasions, in recent months, and I share it, though I am not sure if the people of Gaza deserved to suffer at all. People in the Middle East have a long memory, and depending on who you talk to, they may go back hundreds, even thousands of years to explain and justify today.
The Palestinian people in Gaza need peace now
“The people of Gaza have suffered enough”. I have heard this opinion often, from many people, of different backgrounds and different persuasions, in recent months, and I share it, though I am not sure if the people of Gaza deserved to suffer at all. People in the Middle East have a long memory, and depending who you talk to, they may go back hundreds, even thousands of years to explain and justify today.
Obituary: Eldar Shengelaia - a most reluctant politician
Obituary: Eldar Shengelaia – a most reluctant politician This obituary was written on 5 August 2025 by Dr Dennis Sammut, Director of LINKS Europe and Managing Editor of commonspace.eu I was saddened to hear the news of the death of Georgian public figure, Eldar Shengelaia, at the venerable age of 92. Shenngelaia connected the Georgian past with the present, and his death marks the end of an era.
The world is in a mess, but it is not the time to despair or give up
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, is the world’s most senior civil servant. His words, especially in the last year, have been tense, terse and delivered with a sense of urgency, as he tries to convey to world statesmen, and the world public, the need for urgent, large-scale action to deal with the global problems that seem to be overwhelming the world body. The challenges are enormous, and the response, if it is to be effective, has to be proportionate in size and scope.
The “New Middle East” is not so new after all!
Last month, TIME magazine ran a cover story entitled “A New Middle East Is Unfolding before our eyes”. “The middle of what? East of where?”, asks Tim Marshall in his seminal book ‘Prisoners of Geography’, before quickly reminding us that “The Middle East is one of those places where the past is now”. Indeed, many issues that dominate the region today have roots going back centuries.
The War in Ukraine is Europe’s War
The war in Ukraine, following Russia’s unprovoked invasion in February 2022, has now raged on for three and a half years. Thousands of Ukrainians, military and civilian, have died, and millions of Ukrainians have been displaced. Vladimir Putin brought this calamity on the Ukrainian people, and on his nation too, for political capriciousness and naked ambition.
Dialogue between Armenians and Azerbaijanis now more important than ever
The animosity between Armenians and Azerbaijanis runs deep. The two nations fought many battles against each other. In the wars of the last forty years, tens of thousands of people were killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and billions of euros were lost in economic harm. On Thursday, 13 March 2025, the two sides finally announced that they had agreed on the text of a peace agreement. The agreement will be signed soon.
NATO Summit in The Hague 2: everyone survived, now all eyes on Turkiye
The Nato Summit held in The Hague on 24-25 June was a failure, wrapped in success. It was a success because it avoided public display of divisions, mainly by avoiding issues: it was the shortest summit anyone can remember; it also had a very short final statement that basically had two points, the first a re-commitment to article 5 of the North Atlantic Charter and the principle that an attack on one will be considered an attack on all.
NATO Summit in The Hague II: everyone survived, now all eyes on Türkiye
The Nato Summit held in The Hague on 24-25 June was a failure, wrapped in success. It was a success because it avoided public display of divisions, mainly by avoiding issues: it was the shortest summit anyone can remember; it also had a very short final statement that basically had two points, the first a re-commitment to article 5 of the North Atlantic Charter and the principle that an attack on one will be considered an attack on all.
NATO in The Hague: a summit like no other
NATO summits are usually orderly affairs, prepared well in advance, and an opportunity for the partners in the military alliance to show unity and resolve. The forthcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, on Tuesday and Wednesday, 24 and 25 June is different. As the BBC put it, there will be 32 leaders from Europe and North America present, but “only one man matters - NATO's summit is all about Trump”. With three wars on its borders, NATO needed a good summit in The Hague.
The Georgians are still waiting for the man on the white horse!
The political crises in Georgia that started after disputed parliamentary elections at the end of last year, shows no sign of easing. The government, formed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, appears exhausted. Its strategy of wearing out the opposition failed. It is now increasingly resorting to repression.
The world needs a new narrative
A wave of right-wing sentiment is gripping the world, not least in Europe where right-wing parties that until yesterday were considered to be on the fringe of the political spectrum, are now knocking on the doors of government, if they are not in government already. It is no longer possible to dismiss this movement, nor to ignore it. The question needs to be asked why people are flocking to these parties.
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