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Azerbaijan News

NYT > Azerbaijan This country has always had tricky geography. To its north is Russia. To its south is Iran. And ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union it has looked west, inviting American companies to develop its oil reserves and embracing NATO. But since Russia and Georgia fought a short war this summer, its path has narrowed. Azerbaijan, a small, oil-rich country on the Caspian Sea, has balanced the interests of Russia and the United States since it won its independence from the Soviet Union. It accepts NATO training but does not openly state an intention to join. American planes can refuel on its territory, but American soldiers cannot be based here. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia was weak, with a collapsed economy and a scattered, inconsistent foreign policy. Azerbaijan used that to its advantage. Now Russia is stronger and speaks in one voice, and Azerbaijan has to be more careful in its relations with its big neighbor. The issue closest to this country's heart is that of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area in its southwest where Armenian separatists formed an independent enclave in the 1990s. For years, Azerbaijan has tried, through international mediation, to reclaim the territory and allow Azeri refugees who fled to return. Since the war in Georgia this summer, the Russians seem to have grabbed the initiative. President Dmitri A. Medvedev, on a trip to Yerevan, Armenia, this week, said Russia was pushing for a meeting between the Azeri and Armenian presidents.  Adapted from "A Northern Neighbor Growls, and Azerbaijan Reassesses Its Options" By Sabrina Tavernise 08/13/2011 08:00 AM Office of Leyla Yunus, Azerbaijan Housing Activist, Is Razed Authorities in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, have bulldozed the offices of Leyla Yunus, an activist who has long campaigned against forced evictions in the city. 08/11/2011 08:00 AM Families Face Evictions in Booming Azerbaijan An extraordinary building boom is pushing families in a post-Soviet city out of their neighborhoods. 06/25/2011 08:00 AM Azerbaijan and Armenia Fail to End Enclave Dispute Talks on Friday were aimed at defusing the standoff over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave that has sought to break away from Azerbaijan. 06/25/2011 08:00 AM Emin Milli Punishment a Message From Azerbaijan Government The government of Azerbaijan has freed Emin Milli from jail, but his old life is gone. 06/24/2011 08:00 AM A Moment for Peace in the South Caucasus The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan need to take the first step to a solution to their decades-old conflict. 06/12/2011 08:00 AM Push to Mend Rift Between Azerbaijan and Armenia Over Land Analysts say a presidential-level meeting scheduled for June 25 is the best opportunity in years to end the stalemate over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. 06/01/2011 08:00 AM Dispute Between Azerbaijan and Armenia Heats Up Azerbaijan wants to regain control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which is now populated by ethnic Armenians, but the dispute is growing more dangerous. 05/16/2011 08:00 AM Singers From Azerbaijan Win Eurovision Contest A singing duo was the surprise winner of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, the first victory for the country in the contest. 05/16/2011 08:00 AM Azerbaijan’s Eurovision Win Deflects Worries for While Azerbaijan’s contest victory was a welcome distraction for some from social tensions that emerged this spring. 04/05/2011 08:00 AM Opposition in Azerbaijan Vows to Step Up Protests The police have cracked down on demonstrators against the government of President Ilham Aliyev. Popular support for the movement is difficult to gauge. 04/05/2011 08:00 AM Developments in Yemen and Elsewhere Around the Region Brief reports on developments in Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Iraq; map 04/03/2011 08:00 AM Developments in the Region: Arrests, Clashes and Demonstrations Brief reports on unrest in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Oman

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