Russia, which only on rare occasions manages to pretend it has tucked away its imperial ego for the sake of some short-term whim, is hardly capable of abandoning its expansionist reflexes. And certain talking heads make sure Russia’s neighbors never forget this defining trait of the Kremlin’s political class.
Despite its strategic location, Iran’s sanctions exposure and regulatory unreliability have made it difficult to insert itself within the region’s burgeoning trade networks.
Turkmenistan, with the fifth-largest natural gas reserves in the world, will be able to expand natural gas shipments to Europe and Türkiye, reducing its reliance on sales to China.
The role of NGOs in shaping the humanitarian dimension of Turkic cooperation is steadily growing.
Baku is one of the first candidates to form a decisive link in this new chain. US interest in the post-Soviet region has increased since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
For thirty years of occupation, Azerbaijan consistently conveyed its just position to the international community, yet many external actors preferred to ignore Armenia’s violations of international law in the occupied Azerbaijani territories.
The recent Central Asia summits in Tashkent and Washington, DC proved that the United States is now seriously challenging Russia’s and China’s influence in the region.
At a meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, last Sunday, the leaders of the five Central Asian states — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — made an important decision that could have geopolitical ramifications for Eurasia.
Azerbaijan, after years of speculation and declarations, has joined the Central Asian bloc. This creates a more practically engaged multilateral actor straddling even more of Russia’s southern border, which can now reach the West via the Caucasus and interdict Russian transit to Iran.
Security is perhaps the defining factor for the effectiveness of both domestic and international strategies of almost all existing states. Given the trends we observe in the world, it is hard to argue with this statement.
Central Asia is emerging as a new hub of diplomacy and regional cooperation with growing global influence.
Discussions around the implementation of the Zangezur Corridor — the route named after U.S. President Trump — generally converge on one point: the participating states, as well as the users of this corridor, will gain significant economic benefits.
Central Asian leaders met in Tashkent on November 15–16 for the seventh Consultative Meeting of Heads of State. Azerbaijan attended as a guest with full rights, as it had done at the meetings last year and the year before.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev is participating in the forum as a full-fledged member. It is worth recalling that he took part in the C5 format for the first time—in 2023 in Dushanbe and in 2024 in Astana—still as an honorary guest.
Peace through strength isn’t a slogan. It’s working, and the proof lies in the South Caucasus.
The process of delineating the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia has again moved into the spotlight.
Five years ago, a new date appeared on Azerbaijan’s calendar — November 8, the Day of Victory. The day the 44-day Patriotic War ended.
Discussions on Azerbaijan’s state budget for 2026 have begun, revealing that the country’s economy is entering a phase in which the old model—reliant on oil and gas revenues—is gradually running its course.
The first “signal” came back in mid-October, when President Ilham Aliyev, receiving the credentials of France’s new ambassador Sophie Lagoute, emphasized that Baku and Paris had overcome their differences in bilateral relations.
Earlier this month Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine will secure alternative gas imports with some of these supplies coming from Azerbaijan.
Created in 2015, the C5+1 has evolved from a diplomatic experiment into a durable and flexible tool for Washington to address regional diplomacy.
The rapid transformation of the geopolitical landscape across Southwest Asia, driven by complex political processes in the South Caucasus, the Near East, and the Middle East, is becoming part of daily reality.
Over the past two years, Syrian-Azerbaijani relations have seen notable progress after a prolonged period of stagnation.
For a final peace treaty to be concluded, Armenia must amend its constitution to eliminate territorial claims against Azerbaijan. However, the signing of a peace treaty alone does not guarantee sustainable peace.
