Opinion7- Page

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.

Amid rising security challenges in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has become a topic of heightened attention in military-political discussions.

Amid rising security challenges in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has become a topic of heightened attention in military-political discussions.

As Armenia’s parliamentary elections draw closer, tensions between the authorities and the Armenian Apostolic Church are becoming increasingly visible. A conflict that for a long time remained in the background of Armenian politics has now moved to the forefront and is being discussed publicly more and more often.

Baku and Tashkent are intensifying dialogue in the field of security—across multiple dimensions.

The Donald Trump administration’s recent slew of deals in Central Asia must be accompanied by the removal of congressional roadblocks to further regional cooperation.

On December 8–9, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán paid an official visit to Turkey that attracted attention far beyond the two countries, as the decisions taken went well beyond the bilateral agenda and have the potential to affect processes across Eastern and Central Europe.

Azerbaijan and Hungary have long enjoyed a high level of mutual understanding, supported by steady political dialogue on key global issues. This strong foundation has helped foster business discourse, both bilaterally and in multilateral formats involving Central Asian states and Türkiye.

As Azerbaijan moves through the end of 2025, its diplomatic messaging reflects cautious optimism and a more confident engagement with Europe.

On 8–9 December, the President of Azerbaijan arrived in Slovakia for the first official visit in the history of bilateral relations. This fact alone vividly demonstrates the high level of trust between Baku and Bratislava, as well as the shared intention to give their cooperation a systemic and long-term character.

In recent months, relations between Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates have entered a phase of explosive activity — and this dynamic is anything but accidental.

In recent years, Eurasia has undergone a structural transformation in how regions connect, trade, and cooperate. The combination of geopolitical shocks, disrupted supply chains, and the search for secure east–west routes has elevated the importance of the Trans-Caspian space.

Azerbaijan, a leader member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Organisation of Turkic States (OTC),  is a relatively new addition to the small number of secular Islamic states in the world alongside Türkiye, Indonesia and Pakistan.

Until recently, Astana did not give much thought to this dependency. Relations with Moscow were relatively warm; Kazakhstan was a member of both the CSTO and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Amid the recent chain of events, one episode stands out — the sudden phone call from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.