Opinion7- Page

Over the next 3–4 years, the situation in Venezuela will not have a significant impact on the global oil market, including the price of Azerbaijani oil.

Azerbaijani society is ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse. For the Azerbaijani people, this diversity has always been and remains a source of special pride.

Conflicting statements from Russia about the December 25, 2024 crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that was hit by Russian missile fire have drawn fresh criticism from Azerbaijan, which marked the first anniversary of the disaster with flowers and other tributes. 

Events in the Iranian city of Abdanan, where police officers applauded demonstrators chanting “Death to the dictator,” may appear to be an isolated episode torn from the broader context of street protests.

While natural gas retained its geopolitical prominence, Azerbaijan’s oil and petroleum sector in 2025 reflected both continuity and adaptation.

The interview given by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the local media in Azerbaijan on 5 January 2026 constitutes a strategic manifesto that clearly reveals how the new global order is perceived and where Azerbaijan positions itself within this order.

President Ilham Aliyev demonstrates remarkable skill in articulating the multifaceted nature of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy.

The policy of “double standards” pursued by certain international organizations, which continues to be applied to our country, has failed to exert any tangible influence on Azerbaijan’s international status.

The Trump-brokered peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia is reshaping the South Caucasus and advancing U.S. strategic interests, despite lingering opposition in Congress rooted in 1990s-era constituency politics.

On the eve of this, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Azerbaijan issued a warning: participation in armed conflicts abroad constitutes a grave crime. Under Azerbaijani law, such an offense carries a prison sentence of 8 to 20 years.

The South Caucasus had a good year. The most bitter conflict that emerged during the disintegration of the USSR between Armenia and Azerbaijan was resolved with the signing of a peace agreement in the White House.

The first leaders-level summit held within the framework of the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue Summit (Central Asia plus Japan Dialogue – CA+JAD) took place in Tokyo on December 20, 2025.

The letter from the Russian Investigative Committee to Azerbaijan regarding the AZAL plane crash may at first glance seem like a routine bureaucratic procedure. However, such documents often serve as indicators of deeper processes—those that are not immediately visible.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that the letter from the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, announcing the closure of the case caused serious surprise in Baku.

Ilham Aliyev spoke about the revival of Karabakh, the tragic experience of war, and how international organizations that were supposedly meant to resolve the conflict in fact provided support to Armenia.

The absence of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev from the informal CIS summit may at first glance appear to be a procedural decision dictated by a busy schedule.

A final decision on deploying Azerbaijani peacekeepers to the Gaza Strip has not yet been made. This was stated by Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, in an interview with Nikkei.

As Yerevan shifts toward the West and Jerusalem, Armenian organizations in Washington launch a coordinated public campaign against Israeli-Azerbaijani cooperation.

The Caucasus nation contains some of the most heavily mined stretches of territory in the world.

This week, an event took place that can rightfully be described as historic and symbolically significant for the entire post-conflict space of the South Caucasus, as it opens a qualitatively new chapter in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The opportunity to solidify US influence and trade integration in the Caucasus won’t last forever.

Russia’s initiative to join the consultative format of meetings between the heads of state of Central Asia and Azerbaijan stems from Moscow’s desire to control the situation in the region.

The “Strategy for the Preservation, Development and Promotion of the Culture of the Republic of Armenia for 2023–2027,” adopted in November 2023, at first glance looks like a sectoral document unrelated to security or diplomacy.

Overall, the European Union’s actions in the South Caucasus increasingly resemble an attempt to draw new dividing lines, driven by concerns over Azerbaijan’s growing political and economic influence.