By Vusal GULIYEV, Policy Advisor at the Center of Analysis of International Relations and Head of Shanghai Office at AZEGLOB Consulting Group

In December 2024, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev authorized a $12 million investment into the Port of Baku to initiate the second phase of its expansion. This phase aims to increase the port’s annual cargo capacity from 15 million to 25 million tons. The region’s ongoing geopolitical instability, largely due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing Western sanctions, has disrupted its established trade routes. These geopolitical upheavals underline the importance of Azerbaijan’s position between Europe and Asia as a transit state via the Port of Baku. Azerbaijan’s flagship port is capitalizing on its strategic location along the Silk Road to become a key hub for east–west connectivity. READ MORE

• May 6, 2025

Interview with Eugene KOGAN, Tbilisi-based defence and security expert

In a wide-ranging conversation with Radio Free Europe Georgian service, Kogan offers a stark assessment of the much-hyped Armenia–Azerbaijan peace deal. Though labelled “historic”, the agreement remains stalled. Baku, holding the stronger hand, is in no rush to finalize it—using the drawn-out process to pressure Armenia into further concessions, including the Zangezur corridor and constitutional changes on Nagorno-Karabakh. Meanwhile, Armenia, increasingly isolated and eager to sign, lacks meaningful alternatives or strong international backing. Without a neutral mediator and amid shifting regional alliances—especially Georgia’s pivot toward Moscow—the deal looks more like a tool of leverage than a step toward lasting peace. READ MORE

• May 6, 2025

Speaking to reporters US President Donald Trump said Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to “give up” Crimea, contradicting Zelenskyy’s repeated vows to reclaim the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

• April 29, 2025

Ukraine responds ‘if Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately’ for 30 days.

• April 29, 2025

A blackout paralysed large parts of Spain and Portugal on Monday. Here is what we know.

• April 29, 2025

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hails election result as a chance to ‘build Canada strong’.

• April 29, 2025

Steve Witkoff previously suggested that the US is seeking to curb Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, not abolish it.

• April 16, 2025

Hong Kong’s postal service says it will no longer accept US-bound goods in response to US ‘bullying’.

• April 16, 2025