... First, it wants to increase doubts among the leadership and political elite of Armenia over Russia's reliability as a military and political ally. Second, it wants to convince other countries in the region and the international community as a whole that Russia’s security guarantees are not reliable. Third, it wants to instill in the minds of Azerbaijan’s leadership, its political elite and the society that the solution to the Karabakh problem using a strong arm is possible and quite practical. In other words, it could be well regarded as some kind of collective psychotherapy.
With all ...
Author: Andrei Baikov, PhD in Political Science, Associate Professor, Editor-in-Chief of the International Trends journal
Reflections in the footsteps of Victoria Nuland’s Transcaucasia tour
For several days now, the Russian media has been abuzz over what one journalist dubbed the “explosive” tour of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia taken by Victoria Nuland, whom it has referred to as assistant to the U.S. Secretary of State, but who is actually the assistant to the Under Secretary of State. Interest in Nuland is being fueled by a distorted assessment ...
... settled.
Iran.ru
Vladimir Sazhin:
Caspian 2014: Cutting the Pie
In the light of this the different parties do not expect a general declaration. Russia and Kazakhstan managed to reach agreement on defining the median lines for dividing the shelf, and then Russia and Azerbaijan divided “their” part of the shelf, and the three countries agreed between themselves. Iran, however, refuses to recognise these agreements.
The question of how to divide the southern sector and resolve the issues between Iran, Azerbaijan ...
... In the post-Soviet period, Baku has refrained from buying from Russia, with the first deal concluded only in 2007 when the Azerbaijanis purchased 62 T-72 tanks and BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, probably right off the line.
[7]
Since that time, Russia's share in the Azerbaijani arms market has been on the rise, ousting previously dominant Ukraine, Belarus and Eastern Europe.
Arms supplies are arriving into the region mainly from Russia, Israel, Ukraine, Turkey, as well as from the CIS and East European countries....
... deliver a plan for foreign ministries’ activities covering the period to the next presidents’ meeting.
Sergey Demidenko
What differences prevent the parties from coordinating their positions on the main issues?
The differences are as follows. Russia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan favor delimitation of the Caspian Sea utilizing the “median line principle” (or the equidistance principle) within the Caspian countries’ geographical boundaries and the common use of the Caspian waters. Turkmenistan ...
... all-Russian projects, while government support of civil society in the Caucasian republics might help create the grass-root foundations for resisting the clan structures and corruption.
More attention should be focused on cooperation with Georgia and Azerbaijan, Russia's direct neighbors in the North Caucasus. The readiness for interaction on security during the Sochi Olympics could be used as an impetus for deeper cooperation in the future. It may also seem practicable to revive the idea of setting up joint ...
... national interests and foreign policy priorities. The emergence of independent states in the South Caucasus went hand-in-hand with attempts to advance new regional security mechanisms and new forms of international cooperation.
Analysis of bilateral Russian-Azerbaijani relations is key to understanding political developments across the post-Soviet Caucasus in all their complexity.
Azerbaijan: locked between Armenia and Georgia
Azerbaijan has a unique place in Russian policy in the Caucasus today, staying ...
... political structure. Each state features specific economic, social and political problems that are sure to surface in 2013.
For
Azerbaijan
, the event of the year is the presidential election. Amended by the 2009 referendum, the
Constitution
allows President ... ... (TANAP). Nabucco is still on the list, as well as its competitors Nabucco West and
Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP)
. The Russian gas transportation system is out of the question because Gazprom would not open its infrastructure to other suppliers....
... to block access to their territories to third countries intent on attacking the agreement participants, and to resolve all maritime disputes through negotiations. On November 18, 2010 the Third Caspian Summit was held in Baku, where the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed the Agreement on Security Cooperation in the Caspian Sea and an expanded joint final statement. This accord specifies the areas for cooperation (fighting terrorism, poaching, organized crime, smuggling,...
