On December 17, 2013, in Baku, the Shah Deniz natural gas producers’ consortium approved the Final Investment Decision (FID) to start Phase Two of production. The investment commitment is valued at $25 billion for field development, separately from the estimated $20 billion for the construction... MORE

On December 10, the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation met in Baku. Besides discussing various economic projects to boost mutual trade and investment, ministers from the two governments considered how to expand cultural exchanges.The two governments have repeatedly expressed disappointment with their low levels... MORE

The interim agreement, concluded on November 24 with Iran and six world powers led by the United States, will see Tehran cap its nuclear program at a reduced capacity in exchange for relaxed international sanctions. The deal has met with strong resistance from some quarters,... MORE

The European Union’s Vilnius summit (November 28–29) helped to demonstrate that the Eastern Partnership program must pursue a more differentiated approach toward the individual partner countries.The EU had, broadly speaking, made identical offers to Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively. It proposed to each of them the... MORE

On November 29, Azerbaijan and the European Union signed a visa-facilitation agreement in Vilnius, Lithuania, within the framework of the Eastern Partnership summit. The agreement was signed by the foreign minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, by Linas Linkevicius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in... MORE

Following his re-election on October 9, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s first official foreign visit was to Turkey. During the November 12–13 visit, Aliyev met with Turkish President Abdulla Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the chairman of the Grand National... MORE

The ethnically charged riots in the Moscow suburb of Biryulyovo in early October, as well as the resulting case of Orkhan Zeynalov—an Azerbaijani citizen charged with sparking the violence—have electrified Azerbaijani society and become sources of anti-Kremlin feelings in the South Caucasus country. On October... MORE

Suspending the construction of large infrastructure projects is one of the primary accusations that President Mikheil Saakashvili and his team make against the government of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili in the run up to the presidential elections scheduled for October 27. These projects would arguably... MORE

The government of Azerbaijan wants the United States to exert greater influence in the South Caucasus, but is actually seeing less of it under the administration of President Barack Obama; and the ways of that involvement have not always been productive. Azerbaijan continues to believe... MORE

Negotiating a phased withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijan’s territory is the top national security priority for Baku. Recent trends in the region pose additional challenges to Azerbaijan in the run-up to its presidential election. These include: Russia’s growing clout, Armenia’s decision to join the... MORE