Brussels "thorn" and Baku removal

On April 4, 2025, the first summit of the European Union and Central Asia was held in Samarkand with the participation of the European Commission President and the leaders of the states of the specified region. In the past, similar formats of interaction between the European Union and the republics of the former Soviet Union existed, for example, the "Eastern Partnership" program, which included, we remind you, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia.

Three years ago, a summit was also held in the EU-African Union format. And now, as we can see, Brussels has turned its gaze to a new region, represented mostly by states that, with the exception of Tajikistan, are also members of the Organization of Turkic States. This immediately suggested that the initiators of this summit, held in the shortest time after its announcement - and these initiators, without doubt, are seated rather in the European Union than in Central Asia itself - pursued a rather delicate goal. This was obvious and, as a result, the question immediately arose: why did the initiators decide to strengthen ties with a region, most of whose states are also members - by coincidence? - of the Organization of Turkic States. What's the catch?

More details in the video material of the analytical YouTube project Caliber: