Work on the Southern Gas Corridor’s (SGC) implementation intensified to an unprecedented degree in recent months. On March 17 and May 17, the ground breaking ceremonies of two key constituent parts of the Southern Corridor—the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP)—were held, respectively,... MORE

The periodic escalation of violence in and around the separatist Azerbaijani territory of Karabakh routinely raises concerns about this conflict’s threat to regional energy security and pipeline infrastructure. However, few commentaries analyze this issue’s broader geopolitical implications in any detail. The intense fighting between the... MORE

Last month’s deadly skirmishes along the line of conflict in Karabakh (April 2–5), the so-called “four-day war,” highlighted the need for a reinvigorated international mediation effort. Immediately afterward, Russia appeared ready to take the initiative. The ceasefire agreement brokered by Moscow, on April 5, followed... MORE

Serious renewed violence broke out between the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan last month (April 2–5, 2016), with fighting in the separatist Azerbaijani region of Karabakh reaching levels not seen since the ceasefire of 1994. One the distinctive features of the recent escalation, which... MORE

The Dagestan Days festival opens in Baku this week (May 12–13), during which ties between that republic in the Russian North Caucasus and Azerbaijan will be celebrated and new business deals announced (Azertag.az, May 7). However, relations between these two Muslim republics are increasingly tense.... MORE

The Azerbaijani-Armenian confrontation over Azerbaijan’s breakaway territory of Karabakh has been simmering for years. The 1994 ceasefire was broken time and again, soldiers on both sides were killed year after year, and all attempts to find a political solution to the conflict ended in deadlock;... MORE

Large-scale armed clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, from April 2 to 5 (see EDM, April 6), drew the international spotlight back to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Karabakh, which has commonly been perceived as “frozen” for over two decades. This armed conflict passed through different... MORE

On April 13, the energy ministers of Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Iran met in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, where they agreed to create a single, common electricity market among these countries. For this purpose, bilateral Russia-Georgia, Armenia-Georgia, and Armenia-Iran projects are being planned to... MORE

After the eruption of intense hostilities around Karabakh on April 2, Georgian authorities attempted to clarify their position on this acute regional issue. President Giorgi Margvelashvili called on the conflicting sides “to resolve the conflict, which is only a hundred kilometers away [from Georgia], in... MORE

Continuing drastic declines in energy prices have given new impetus to Azerbaijan’s long-running quest to diversify its economy and develop the domestic non-oil sector. In this regard, the country’s leadership has placed particular importance on the transport sector (Abc.az, April 13; Azernews, March 10). In... MORE