Azerbaijan: Will Khadija Ismayilova’s Freedom Open Prison Doors?

by Durna Safarova Two days before her 40th birthday, Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova was released from prison on May 25. Questions persist about the Azerbaijani government’s motivation for the release, and whether it portends a loosening of restrictions on civil liberties… Continue Reading

Nagorno-Karabakh: Chance for EU-Iran Engagement

by Eldar Mamedov What was feared for a long time happened on April 2. Severe clashes erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a disputed, Armenian-majority area legally part of Azerbaijan. The clashes, which claimed the lives of… Continue Reading

Azerbaijan: Did Prisoner Releases Help Secure Washington’s Welcome?

by Giorgi Lomsadze Azerbaijan was welcomed at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC on March 30 as an international energy security and counterterrorism asset, while the country’s repressive ways gained only a faint mention.  

Iran Cultivates Closer Ties with Azerbaijan

by LobeLog’s Tehran correspondent After six years of turbulent relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, several recent trips by high-ranking Iranian officials to Baku and Azeri ministers to Tehran are the latest signs that the two countries want… Continue Reading