Executive Summary: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and U.S. President Donald Trump signed a seven-point joint pledge declaring their intention to pursue peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia during an August 8 meeting at the White House.  During the same trip, the... MORE

Executive Summary: Tensions linger between Armenia and Azerbaijan over a proposed transit route, better known to many as the Zangezur Corridor, through Armenia that would restore a Soviet-era connection between Azerbaijan and its exclave of Nakhchivan. Reports alleging that the United States had proposed that... MORE

Executive Summary: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Abu Dhabi on July 10 for their first direct bilateral talks without mediators. Discussions included renewed momentum on the development of the Zangezur Corridor. Both Baku and Yerevan agreed on a... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine aimed to reassert dominance over the former Soviet space, but Ukraine’s resistance and sustained Western support have instead weakened Moscow’s influence in the region. Moscow’s war against Ukraine has led the former Soviet republics to pursue... MORE

Executive Summary: The July 10 summit between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Abu Dhabi marks a significant step in the ongoing peace process between the two countries. The summit reflects a broader shift in the South Caucasus, as Armenia and Azerbaijan strive for strategic autonomy rather... MORE

Executive Summary: The Caspian Sea is becoming a site of geopolitical conflict as Russia is rapidly losing its dominance over the four other littoral states: Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan have been expanding their fleets and are now entering into security... MORE

Executive Summary: A Russian raid in Ekaterinburg targeting ethnic Azerbaijanis on June 27 resulted in deaths, injuries, and allegations of torture. This ignited a severe diplomatic crisis, with Baku accusing Moscow of ethnic violence and launching a criminal investigation. Russia-Azerbaijan relations have been deteriorating since... MORE

Executive Summary: Azerbaijan and Vietnam established an official strategic partnership during General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Tô Lâm’s May 7–8 visit to Baku, signing major agreements in energy, defense, science, trade, and culture to expand bilateral cooperation. Key economic deals include energy... MORE

Executive Summary: The deepening drought in southern Russia is threatening the region and its food production, as well as Moscow’s relationship with neighboring states harmed by the reduced flow of the Volga River into the Caspian Sea. Southern Russia’s drought is having a serious negative... MORE

Executive Summary: On May 7, Azerbaijan announced that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would not attend Moscow’s May 9 Victory Day parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. Azerbaijani media attributed the visit cancellation to a series of negative developments... MORE