Azerbaijan Archives - Robert Lansing Institute

“Always Ready for War”: What Aliyev Meant—and What Comes Next

1) The trigger: Aliyev’s August message On Aug. 21, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan “must always be ready for war,” touting expanded special forces, new commando units, upgraded aircraft and fresh fighter-jet…

August 29, 2025Azerbaijan, Russia

Conflict Geopolitics Peacekeeping

Russia’s Pressure on Armenia After the Armenia–Azerbaijan Peace Breakthrough and Naryshkin’s Yerevan Overtures

Armenia and Azerbaijan initialed a U.S.-brokered peace deal on August 8, 2025, with Washington and Brussels framing it as a milestone that still requires formal signing and ratification. Moscow reads this as a…

August 21, 2025Armenia, Azerbaijan, Naryshkin, Russia, SVR, USA

Geopolitics

The Waning Grip: The Decline of Russia’s Foreign Policy in the Global South

Introduction Russia has long positioned itself as an alternative power to the West in the Global South, portraying its diplomacy as non-imperialist and focused on sovereignty, military cooperation, and anti-Western…

July 16, 2025Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkiye

Conflict Intelligence ops

Shifting Sands: Azeri-Russian Tensions Surface Amid Diaspora Strains and Media Arrests

The Russian police raids in Yekaterinburg targeting the Azerbaijani diaspora appear to have been triggered by a complex mix of internal intelligence turf wars, geopolitical messaging to Baku, and concerns over organized crime…

July 1, 2025Azerbaijan, Russia

Conflict Geopolitics

Russia Unwilling to Defend Iran’s Interests Despite Strategic Use

In the South Caucasus, a clash of interests involving Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan continues, with Russia aligning itself with Ankara and Baku at the expense of Tehran’s goals. Turkey and…

September 6, 2024Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, Turkiye

Conflict

Efforts to de-escalate through dialog have failed due to Yerevan’s denial of responsibility

Baku has been preparing for a counterterrorism operation for several weeks in response to Armenia's persistent use of various types of weapons to attack borders, shelling local security forces and…

September 19, 2023Armenia, Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Russia

Conflict Geopolitics Peacekeeping

Will Iran’s and Russia’s Meddling Start Another War in the South Caucasus?

Amidst recent flurry of diplomatic activity between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the specter of globalization of conflicts arises. No sooner have the foreign ministers dispatched to Washington from Baku and Yerevan…

May 4, 2023Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Karabakh, Turkiye

Conflict Geopolitics

CSTO turns incapable, Russia loses leadership in the post-Soviet space

The Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) refusal to send ‘peacekeepers’ to Armenia against the background of the conflict escalation with Azerbaijan will inevitably lead to the organization collapse. Russia's military invasion of…

September 19, 2022Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Russia, Turkey, Türkiye

Conflict

Military conflict in Karabakh brought to a close: Moscow’s hand strengthened while that of Turkey weakened

Military conflict in Karabakh ended with expanded military presence by Russia in the Caucasus under the Transnistrian scenario. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed he had signed a peace deal…

November 10, 2020Armenia, Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Russia

Conflict

Karabakh, a frozen conflict is not a closed conflict

On September 27th, the 30-year conflict in Karabakh was awakened. Heavy bombardments between the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces continued as the two warring sides refused to hear repeated appeals from…

October 15, 2020Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Karabakh, Russia

Azerbaijan

“Always Ready for War”: What Aliyev Meant—and What Comes Next

Russia’s Pressure on Armenia After the Armenia–Azerbaijan Peace Breakthrough and Naryshkin’s Yerevan Overtures

The Waning Grip: The Decline of Russia’s Foreign Policy in the Global South

Shifting Sands: Azeri-Russian Tensions Surface Amid Diaspora Strains and Media Arrests

Russia Unwilling to Defend Iran’s Interests Despite Strategic Use

Efforts to de-escalate through dialog have failed due to Yerevan’s denial of responsibility

Will Iran’s and Russia’s Meddling Start Another War in the South Caucasus?

CSTO turns incapable, Russia loses leadership in the post-Soviet space

Military conflict in Karabakh brought to a close: Moscow’s hand strengthened while that of Turkey weakened

Karabakh, a frozen conflict is not a closed conflict

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