Azerbaijan
Asia needs Azerbaijan as Hormuz risks grow
The escalating crisis in the Middle East and severe disruptions to energy transportation through the Strait of Hormuz have once again demonstrated how vulnerable the global oil and gas market remains to instability.
Absheron project may reshape Azerbaijan’s gas export strategy
SOCAR, TotalEnergies, XRG and BOTAŞ signed an agreement in Baku on 1 June on long-term gas supplies from the Absheron gas-condensate field to Turkey. The deal covers the supply of a total of 33bn cubic metres of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey
Russia eyes Azerbaijan to plug food import gap as Moscow-Yerevan ties fray
Moscow has significantly expanded phytosanitary and veterinary restrictions on Armenian produce since early spring.
Middle East conflict and energy shock slow growth across EBRD regions
Bank warns higher energy costs are reigniting inflation, weakening industrial competitiveness and straining already fragile public finances
Azerbaijan's non-oil exports reach $1.1bn in four months as gold surges
Exports of gold, petrochemicals and satellite services posted gains while two SOCAR trading divisions recorded steep declines.
Azerbaijan positions itself as dual-track energy hub amid global supply uncertainty
Azerbaijan is accelerating both fossil fuel and renewable energy development as it seeks to entrench its role as a reliable supplier to Europe and emerging markets, Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov told the 31st Baku Energy Forum.
Rubio backs Trans-Caspian gas pipeline proposal in meeting with Turkmenistan’s top diplomat
Infrastructure could boost European energy security, though Russia could move to block it.
The return of the Silk Road as the “C6”, a key geopolitical link between Europe and Asia
There is a map that used to hang in the offices of Soviet central planners in Moscow, showing the five republics of Central Asia as a single administrative unit with all roads pointing to Moscow. Today the arrows point in all directions at once.
Energy, transit and geopolitics reshape ties between EU and Azerbaijan
The European Union and Azerbaijan are rebuilding relations after years of strain, says a Carnegie Politika analysis.
Georgia and Azerbaijan sign energy and transit deals at Aliyev-Kobakhidze summit
Deals cover natural gas supply, electricity imports and transit, the revival of the Baku-Tbilisi-Supsa oil pipeline, and rehabilitation work on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.
Azerbaijan's graduate glut
Most of the new jobs created in Azerbaijan are in construction, but over 50% of the new graduate workforce is humanities-trained.
Kazakhstan rejects idea of Turkic states military alliance
Tokayev reins in any such ambitions at OTS summit attended by Turkey’s Erdogan. At same time, wants to turn Kazakh armed forces into “high-tech fist”.
Central Asia lagging in AI diffusion – report
Adoption rates, however, are among highest in Asia.
Azerbaijan's central bank cuts 2026 GDP growth forecast to 1.1%
Growth downgrade reflects impact of elevated global geopolitical tensions on trade and supply chains, even as commodity export revenues benefit from higher prices.
New report documents how Central Asian states abet Russian sanctions-busting
Georgia is Russia’s primary route in Caucasus.
COMMENT: How Trump lost Europe in Armenia
Forty-eight European heads of state met in Yerevan on May 4 with no American present. The Yerevan EPC was the moment Europe stopped trying to prevent the transatlantic rupture and started managing it.
Is Russia quietly blocking the development of the Middle Corridor?
Mysteriously, the project to build the transit route’s most critical piece of infrastructure, Anaklia deep sea port in Georgia, remains stalled.
Azerbaijan summons EU ambassador over European Parliament resolution
Azerbaijan has summoned the EU ambassador to Baku and handed her a note of protest over a European Parliament resolution adopted on April 30, in the sharpest deterioration in EU-Azerbaijan relations since Baku regained control of Karabakh in 2023.
India cannot compete with Russia in defence export markets
India has traditionally been a major defence export market for Russia, and while being mostly a vendor - customer relationship between 1960 and 2000, it has now started to evolve in the 'beyond-visual range' era of multi-domain warfare.
Military use of Caspian Sea is intolerable, says Kazakhstan’s leader
At ecological summit, Tokayev names no countries, but Russia’s lobbing of missiles at Ukraine from the sea and Ukrainian oil platform attacks come to mind.