The Kars Treaty border remained, despite occasional Soviet protests that it should be amended, notably in 1945. Gauging the international response to the latest standoff between Baku and Yerevan, several standout features highlight the increasing geopolitical stakes across the region. [1], Like other former Soviet republics, Azerbaijan faces a gigantic environmental cleanup complicated by the economic uncertainties left in the wake of the Moscow-centered planning system. However, scratching below the surface of this so-called “frozen conflict” reveals the shifting geopolitical dynamics transforming the resource-rich states straddling the spine of Asia from neglected backwaters into the epicenter of a New Great Game as both historical and emerging powers jostle for power and influence along the old Silk Road. Map of Asia Reference Map of Asia. [1] In the Soviet period, Azerbaijan was pressed to use extremely heavy applications of pesticides to improve its output of scarce subtropical crops for the rest of the Soviet Union. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); This site uses cookies to deliver a better user experience. [1] A small part of Nakhchivan also borders Turkey to the northwest.

Therefore, incidents such as last months’ clashes along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border hold not only the potential to radically alter the regional landscape but produce geopolitical shockwaves with far-reaching consequences beyond the South Caucasus. Baku, on the Caspian, enjoys mild weather that averages 4 °C (39.2 °F) in January and 25 °C (77 °F) in July. Dress to Address: Why Fashion is Indeed Political, Factionalising Antisemitism: The British Labour Party Suspends Jeremy Corbyn, Saudi Arabia’s View of a Potential Biden Presidency. Destinations. The maximum daily precipitation of 334 mm was observed at the Bilieser Station in 1955. Azerbaijan on Thursday said it had taken full control of its border with neighbouring Iran as Baku pressed its military operation in its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.. In the longer term, increased interest in the Caspian’s immense natural gas reserves as part of a broader energy transition away from oil towards more sustainable fuels is set to heighten the stakes of external powers all across the region. [1], The Caspian Sea, including Baku Bay, has been polluted by oil leakages and the dumping of raw or inadequately treated sewage, reducing the yield of caviar and fish. Azerbaijan is nearly surrounded by mountains. Given the historically close ethnic, cultural, linguistic and economic ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan, Ankara has provided ample diplomatic support to Baku throughout the crisis, with Erdogan implying that Moscow had covertly supplied Armenia with advanced military equipment after claiming that “Armenia could not have undertaken such an attack on its own.” Meanwhile, Moscow has responded by tacitly staging large-scale military exercises in southwestern Russia, close to the Azerbaijani border in a thinly veiled warning to Ankara not to escalate hostilities. As regional powers jostle to exploit shifting geopolitical realities across the South Caucasus, the Armenia-Azerbaijan border dispute has highlighted long-term dynamics set to heighten the stakes on the crucial corridor at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. The Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan is controlled by Armenians, backed by Yerevan, who declared independence as the Soviet Union fell.. As a New Great Game begins to unfold along the shores of the Caspian, the challenge facing diplomats, politicians, and policymakers is to prevent the historic rivalries that plague the region spiraling into a proxy battleground for new rivals across the heart of Eurasia. Notably, Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions boiled over just as the Southern Gas Corridor, an ambitious pipeline connecting Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field to the European Union, bypassing Russia and Iran via Turkey and Georgia is nearing completion. Map of the Caspian Sea Map of the Caspian Sea Region. Asia. However, what makes last month’s skirmishes unique is the fact that the clashes broke out far from the contested region, 300 kilometers north of Nagorno-Karabakh on the undisputed international border near Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district. [1] The waters of the reservoir provide hydroelectric power and irrigation of the Kura-Aras plain. [1] To the northeast, bordering Russia's Dagestan Autonomous Republic, is the Greater Caucasus range; to the west, bordering Armenia, is the Lesser Caucasus range. Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the country's center. The Lesser Caucasus range, with elevations up to 3,500 m, lies to the west along the border with Armenia.

[1] Major sources of pollution include oil refineries and chemical and metallurgical industries, which in the early 1990s continued to operate as inefficiently as they had in the Soviet era. Located in the region of the southern Caucasus Mountains, Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea to the east, Georgia and Russia to the north, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the southwest and west. The conflict erupted again into full-scale fighting last month. [1] Most of the country's rivers are not navigable. Moreover, Turkey stands to benefit from the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor, enabling Ankara to leverage its privileged geostrategic position at the crossroads of Europe and Asia to become an energy transit hub, potentially limiting pipeline access in accordance with Ankara’s foreign policy goals. Below the surface, the strategic calculations of regional actors in response to the crisis along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border masks broader trends exacerbating the risk of future confrontations. [1] Some reports have described Baku's air as the most polluted in the former Soviet Union, and other industrial centers suffer similar problems. Kobustan Mountain, located near Baku, is carved by deep ravines, from which bubble mud volcanoes and mineral springs. Since 1994, when a Russian-brokered ceasefire left Armenian forces in possession of 20% of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory, sporadic border clashes have erupted between the opposing armies in Nagorno-Karabakh, most notably during the inconclusive Four Days War in 2016. This latest flareup is reflective of an emerging dynamic of strategic competition between the two powers, with Moscow and Ankara backing rival sides in Libya and Syria as both Putin and Erdogan seek to increase their geopolitical clout across the region. Azerbaijan is situated in the Caucasus region of Eurasia.

[1] Because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, large numbers of trees were felled, roads were built through pristine areas, and large expanses of agricultural land were occupied by military forces.

[5], Physiographic conditions and different atmosphere circulations admit 8 types of air currents including continental, sea, arctic, tropical currents of air that formulates the climate of the Republic. Given the indisputably close bilateral relationship between Ankara and Baku, gas imports are far less likely to be deployed as a geopolitical tool, enabling Erdogan to feel less constrained in his aggressive pursuit of a dominant geostrategic position in the region due to fears over Turkey’s energy security. [1] Rising water levels in the Caspian Sea, mainly caused by natural factors exacerbated by man-made structures, have reversed the decades-long drying trend and now threaten coastal areas; the average level rose 1.5 meters between 1978 and 1993.

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