Part 10/14:
Azerbaijan's president has received a rare gesture of solidarity from Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Zelensky offering condolences regarding the arrests. Historically, Azerbaijan has distanced itself from Moscow, especially after a decisive military campaign in 2023 reclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian control. The downing of a passenger plane from Azerbaijan over Russian airspace in 2023, which Baku attributes to Russian electronic warfare, further strained ties.
This diplomatic fallout underscores the shifting geopolitics in the Caucasus and Eurasia, with Azerbaijan balancing its energy market ambitions—diverging from Moscow's influence—while confronting ongoing regional tensions.