Latest Articles about Azerbaijan
BAKU AND ASTANA PLAY IT SAFE IN CASPIAN OIL BATTLE
Until Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a landmark trip to Baku on May 25, marking Kazakhstan's decisive move towards joining the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project, bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan had shown few signs of progress. Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev visited Kazakhstan in March 2004,... MORE
WILL BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE CARRY REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS ALONG WITH CRUDE?
During the opening ceremony on May 25, oil started flowing into the U.S.-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which will bring Caspian hydrocarbons to Western markets and break Russia's monopoly on energy exports from the Caucasus and Central Asia. But some Russian political analysts contend that the... MORE
AZERBAIJAN JOINS ARMENIA AS NEW MEMBER OF DISCREDITED UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
On April 29, Azerbaijan became a member of the UN Human Rights Commission. Azerbaijan's representative to the United Nations, Yashar Aliev, described the vote as an "important step." The election was held following a meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council, to which the... MORE
SLOW CADRE REFORM HINDERS ALIEV’S DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
On April 26, while visiting Shemakha, a town 100 kilometers away from Baku, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev was confronted by numerous complaints about rising prices in the country as well as the lack of employment opportunities. Yet, the most striking comment came from a senior... MORE
COUNCIL OF EUROPE ADVISES BAKU AHEAD OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
The past two weeks have marked new, intensified efforts by the international community to ensure that Azerbaijan conducts free and fair parliamentary elections, which are set for November of this year. Outsiders are putting more pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities to democratize and implement reforms.... MORE
AZERBAIJAN’S ALIEV SEEKS POLISH HELP FOR EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
After visits to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev reversed course and paid a visit to a European country -- Poland -- on March 30. The trip refuted speculations that Azerbaijan was gradually shifting its foreign policy course towards the East. The... MORE
OPPOSITION SCORES TWO GAINS IN AZERBAIJAN
On March 21, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev signed an amnesty decree, releasing 115 prisoners. The decreed, timed to coincide with the Novruz spring holiday, freed many individuals that the Council of Europe, local, and international human rights organizations considered to be "political prisoners" (ANS TV,... MORE
AZERBAIJAN AND CHINA MOVE TO INCREASE SECURITY AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION
President Ilham Aliev's March 17 visit to China marked a new, more expanded phase in relations between Azerbaijan and China. Although contacts between the two countries have remained relatively friendly since 1991, the last time their top leaders met was in 1994 when the late... MORE
ARE AZERBAIJAN AND ARMENIA HEADED FOR NEW CONFRONTATION OVER KARABAKH?
Spring typically revives the lingering conflict over the Karabakh enclave. But according to Azerbaijani military expert Uzeyir Jafarov, "The tensions on the front line happen every spring, but this year something unusual is happening" (Echo, March 16). Jafarov's observation accurately describes the situation on the... MORE
PROMINENT EDITOR MURDERED IN AZERBAIJAN, RUMORS SWIRL ABOUT POSSIBLE SHOOTERS
On March 2, Elmar Huseynov, editor of the popular weekly Monitor, was shot to death while returning home in Baku around 7 pm. Politicians and ordinary citizens alike were horrified by the violent attack on the 37-year old journalist. President Ilham Aliev immediately convened a... MORE