The escalating conflict in Georgia--with its unexpected military developments and great humanitarian losses--seems to have caught Azerbaijani officials and the public off guard. Azerbaijanis are not new to the world of Russian political games in the Caucasus. Baku itself suffered greatly from Russian intervention in... MORE

On May 14 and 15 the Russian Academy of State Service under the President of the Russian Federation hosted the conference “Cultural Heritage, Culture of the Lezgin People: History and Modernity,” which was organized by the Ministry of Regional Development with support from the Ministry... MORE

Newly elected President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev paid his first official visit to Azerbaijan where he met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and leaders of the various religious denominations in the country. He also visited the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which preserves the... MORE

Azerbaijani politicians and political parties are actively discussing amendments to the Election Code. These changes will lay a foundation for the conduct of elections from this year on. The parliament has discussed and approved these changes: henceforth, the campaign period for the presidential elections will... MORE

The Caspian’s legal status has been in limbo since the 1991 collapse of the USSR. The Caspian is the world’s largest enclosed body of water, with a surface area of 143,244 square miles. A mini-fleet of tankers now prowls its water, but less known is... MORE

As the presidential elections in Azerbaijan are approaching, the issue of Western influence in those elections and the perceived threat of the West’s support for the color revolutions is once again emerging in the country. In this context the role of the United States is... MORE

Azerbaijan's massive hydrocarbon resources have begun to attract the attention of an increasing number of energy-poor nations in the Middle East, including Israel and Jordan. While the logistical problems involved in such deliveries would be daunting, as no direct pipelines currently exist, the diplomatic intricacies... MORE

“Democracy in Azerbaijan is at least no worse than in Georgia, but the comparison with Armenia is almost impossible,” said Khazar Ibrahim, the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.day.az, April 29). This statement came as a result of... MORE

Azerbaijanis have long distrusted the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk group, co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States. All three countries have large Armenian diasporas and are considered to favor Armenians in the Karabakh conflict. Many Azerbaijanis accuse the Minsk group... MORE