How Azerbaijan defies Russia and Iran in Eurasia's new order
Iran and
Russia
Azerbaijan has been actively reconfiguring relationships with its neighbours in a bid to stake a claim as a major player in Eurasia – even at the cost of ratcheting up diplomatic friction with its former colonial rulers.
Advertisement
Emboldened by
the decisive seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh from
Armenia in 2023, Baku has drawn on a web of diverse strategic partnerships to assert its autonomy.
No longer content to be a subordinate neighbour, Azerbaijan is pushing back against Moscow and Tehran, drawing strength from a disparate coalition that includes
Israel
Turkey , nuclear-armed
Pakistan and strategic partner
China , as well as a host of former Soviet republics with majority ethnic Turkic populations.
The shifting allegiances have prompted comparisons with the 19th-century 'Great Game' between the British and Russian empires, but analysts see today's contest as even more intricate.
The current geopolitical contest in the southern Caucasus 'involves a more complex and multipolar configuration, with multiple stakeholders', said Rusif Huseynov, director of the Baku-based Topchubashov Centre think tank. Alongside Russia and China, the United States, European Union, India and Pakistan all now jostle for influence.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Indonesia's ‘spine bag' designer jailed in Myanmar, no military rescue on cards
Indonesia has ruled out any military operation to secure the release of controversial social media personality and fashion designer Arnold Putra, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Myanmar , and is instead turning to defence diplomacy and quiet negotiations to resolve a case that has become a political headache in Jakarta. Arnold, 33, known for his provocative online persona and content, was convicted in March by Myanmar's military junta of entering the country illegally and engaging with an ethnic armed group. He was sentenced to seven years in Yangon's Insein Prison, with the verdict now final and binding. Some lawmakers have urged the government to take strong action to free Arnold. On July 3, Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad told reporters that while diplomacy should remain the main path, 'if diplomacy fails, we will urge the government to consider the option of a non-combat military operation'. But top officials, including Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, have made it clear that military intervention is not on the table. 'That's not the approach we're taking,' he told reporters on Wednesday, emphasising the need to engage Myanmar's military-led government through established diplomatic and defence channels. Prison security officials outside Insein Prison in Yangon. Photo: AFP State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi also told reporters on Monday that Arnold's incarceration in Myanmar was 'not a military matter' in response to a question about the possibility of an operation.
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
China-Russia ties are more mature and stable than any major global relationship: Wang Yi
The relationship between Beijing and Moscow shows great stability, maturity and strategic values, China's top diplomat Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Beijing ahead of a Eurasian grouping summit. The Russian foreign minister arrived in Beijing on Saturday following a working visit to North Korea, where he met leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang and held the second round of strategic dialogue with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. Emphasising the depth and uniqueness of their bilateral ties, Wang also said Russian President Vladimir Putin's coming visit to China would be among top priorities between Beijing and Moscow in the coming months. 04:14 China's Xi Jinping joins Vladimir Putin at Victory Day parade in Russia China's Xi Jinping joins Vladimir Putin at Victory Day parade in Russia 'China-Russia relations represent the most stable, mature and strategically significant major-country relationship in the world today, and both sides consistently view and advance cooperation across all domains from a historical, strategic and long-term perspective,' Wang told Lavrov, who is in Beijing for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting, according to a Chinese readout. 'Close communication between the two foreign ministers facilitates the timely implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and the current priority is to jointly prepare for high-level engagements in the next phase, deepen comprehensive strategic coordination … and collaboratively address the challenges posed by a turbulent and changing world.' Russia's presidential aide Yury Ushakov said in an interview in Moscow last month that Putin would spend four days in China from August 31 to September 3, when he would join the SCO leaders' summit and hold major bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping before taking part in activities marking the 80th anniversary of China's victory in its resistance war against Japanese aggression. On Tuesday, Lavrov will join SCO counterparts from Central Asia as well as Iran, India and Pakistan in China's northern port city of Tianjin to pave the way for the leaders' meeting in late August.
South China Morning Post
15 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong aims to increase flights to Asean, Middle East under belt and road plan
Hong Kong is striving to enhance its connectivity with countries under the Belt and Road Initiative by increasing flight frequencies to strategic destinations such as Xinjiang, Riyadh and Dallas, as well as launching new direct routes to second-tier Asean and Middle Eastern locations, the city's chief for the national plan has said. In an exclusive interview with the Post, Commissioner for Belt and Road Nicholas Ho Lik-chi also said the global volatility brought by US President Donald Trump's administration had forced more Western capital to shift eastward, enabling Hong Kong to stand out as a connector for companies in mainland China and other emerging markets. Ho, a registered architect, was appointed in 2023 to coordinate the government's efforts in promoting Hong Kong's involvement in the initiative, a national strategy that links more than 140 economies across continents into a China-centred trade network. He regarded the aviation push as critical in enhancing Hong Kong's connectivity with countries under the belt and road plan, noting that it was a milestone for the city in the past year to launch direct flights to three strategic destinations – Riyadh, Xinjiang and Dallas – on top of the existing routes to more than 150 locations. 'We were able to create interim solutions to further develop these new markets in these new regions,' he said. 'We have a mission to deep dive into Asean, Central Asia and the Middle East as our core development markets.' Cathay Pacific Airways' relaunch of direct flights to Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, last October had served as a gateway to the Middle East, Ho said. At least nine nations in the region have signed agreements under the initiative.
