The Azerbaijani-Turkish Trans-Anatolia gas pipeline project (TANAP) has become the basic component of the EU-backed Southern Corridor for Caspian gas to Europe. Shortly after the signing of the Azerbaijan-Turkey memorandum of understanding (MOU on December 26, 2011), the European Commission incorporated TANAP into the planning... MORE

US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have endorsed the Azerbaijani-Turkish project, Trans-Anatolia gas pipeline (TANAP), in their June 5 messages to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The two messages were read out at the opening of the Caspian Oil and Gas conference... MORE

On May 30, the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Azerbaijan reported that two weeks earlier it had neutralized an armed group of Sunni Islamist militants who planned to kill the President of Azerbaijan and carry out bomb attacks during the Eurovision Song Contest. Azerbaijani... MORE

With the salient exception of Georgia, NATO basically ignored its own immediate eastern neighborhood at NATO’ Chicago summit (May 20-21). Europe’s East – a “gray zone” of six countries bordering on NATO and the EU – faces a deepening security vacuum and Russian re-expansion. This... MORE

The Nabucco pipeline consortium has submitted a radically modified version of its project for consideration by the Shah Deniz gas producers’ consortium in Azerbaijan. The modified submission capped intense discussions within the Nabucco consortium, down to the wire of the May 16 deadline.Its new version,... MORE

In mid-April, Azerbaijan’s State Border Service (SBS) reported on the successful completion of week-long tactical exercises in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. The exercises, called “Protection of Oil and Gas Fields, Platforms, and Export Pipelines,” involved around 1,200 servicemen, 21 ships, 20 speedboats... MORE

Hungary’s critique of the Nabucco project (see accompanying article) has prompted the other partners in the consortium to express their own views. On the whole, these reflect the stakeholders’ common interest in implementing this pipeline project. They also reflect country-specific or company-specific interests attached to... MORE

For the last two months, Azerbaijani-Iranian relations were put under serious stress. Relations between the two countries lacked cordiality for many years; yet, both countries refrained from harsh criticisms and hostile actions against each other. However, several recent events exacerbated the uneasy relations between the... MORE

The Republic of Azerbaijan is inarguably one of the fastest developing countries in the post-Soviet space. Large revenues from exports of oil and gas have obscured all of the problems of this Caucasian republic. As in all other republics of the Caucasus, there are also... MORE

Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company (SOCAR) is poised to become the largest direct foreign investor in Turkey. According to company president, Rovnag Abdullayev, and foreign investment department chief Vahit Aliyev, SOCAR plans to invest $17 billion in Turkey in 2012-2017, concentrated on two flagship projects: construction... MORE