Until recently, the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) could best be understood in terms of identity, language, culture, and economic collaboration. This is changing. On September 17, Baku played host to the Fifth Meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the OTS countries. In his message to the meeting, the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, noted that cooperation among the Turkic peoples no longer consisted of political, economic, and cultural matters only but had gained a “long-term strategic nature.” More importantly, he referred to the consultations of the national security councils as a factor facilitating the emergence of a “common security architecture.” Clearly, it does not mean that the OTS is evolving into a military organisation of the NATO kind: there is no commitment of collective defence similar to that of NATO’s Article 5, and there is no evidence of this desire on the part of all members of the organisation. Yet, the September meeting means something different: security collaboration within the Turkic context is becoming more regular and operational. This process has been quite gradual. The OTS started organising meetings of national security council secretaries since 2022. As of September 2026, the mechanism had attained its fifth meeting. The organisation itself considers security cooperation to be an increasingly important area of interest in relation to both conventional and non-conventional threats. This includes such areas as terrorism, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, extremism, hybrid threats, and critical infrastructure protection. (click image to read the op-ed in full)

On Thursday (3 September), in an important speech to the 4th International Mine Action Conference, organised in Baku by ANAMA and the United Nations, Ambassador Elchin Amirbayov, Representative of the President of Azerbaijan on special assignments, spoke about the importance of mine action in the wider context of peace, with particular reference to the South Caucasus. He said: "Azerbaijan and Armenia have a unique opportunity to turn a page. The political process has created the conditions for a different South Caucasus — one based on peace, connectivity, economic cooperation and good-neighbourly relations. But if we want peace to be sustainable, durable and irreversible, we must remove the remnants of war both from the ground and from existing political and legal framework. Because:  above all, peace needs the next generation to inherit a landscape without mines – both beneath the ground and in our discourse. So the idea is to turn mine action from a legacy of war into an instrument of peace. Jointly, we can accelerate this. And let us make sure that, when we speak about peace in the South Caucasus, we are not speaking only about the absence of war. Let us make peace something people can walk on, live on, build on — and pass on to their children". (click the image to read the speech in full)

The number of provocations against Azerbaijan in Russia is increasing. Whilst official Moscow maintains a friendly tone towards Baku, daily incidents indicate otherwise. The latest incident involved the posting of provocative images against Azerbaijan by unknown individuals in front of the guest house of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in the Russian Federation on August 27 at around noon on 27th August The incident was strongly condemned by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement issued shortly afterwards. "It is not excluded that this unacceptable provocation, in addition to serving to artificially strain Azerbaijani-Russian relations, is part of the dirty and biased campaign against Azerbaijan conducted in a number of Russian media resources in recent times. The Azerbaijani side calls on the relevant bodies of the Russian Federation to give the necessary legal assessment to such provocative actions, ensure a thorough investigation of the incident, and take necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such cases. We expect the Russian side to fully fulfill its obligations to ensure the security of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and its employees at the appropriate level, as well as to prevent any provocative actions that may impede the normal activities of the diplomatic mission, in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement said. In an editorial, the influential Azerbaijani website haqqin.az stated: "What happened on August 27, around midday, outside the guesthouse of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Moscow is disgusting. Hanging insulting notes on the walls of a foreign country's diplomatic building is cowardly, dirty, and petty to the point of disgust. And note where they ended up. The guesthouse is the same mission property and is protected by the same Vienna Convention as the embassy chancery on Leontievsky Lane; this is precisely why the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry cited the convention today. The difference between the two addresses isn't legal. The difference is in who's behind the door. Diplomats are in the chancery. People in the guesthouse are in Moscow on business.  This speaks volumes about the "courage" of the perpetrators and, more accurately, about the conscience of those who sent them.' Moscow works in mysterious ways, but one must ask, what's the point?

President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, gave an extensive interview to the Uzbekistan National News Agency (UzA), in which he outlined how relations between the two countries are evolving and developing. On the eve of his state visit to Uzbekistan Aliyev said "the sincere friendship, mutual respect and trust that exist between the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, my dear brother, Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, and myself play a special role in strengthening Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan brotherhood, bringing interstate ties to their current level and developing our alliance". Aliyev also spoke about his country's relations with Central Asia.  "The cooperation format formerly known as the “C5” format has in fact evolved into the “C6” format, and regional dialogue and strategic partnership have taken on new substance and a broader scope. Azerbaijan’s full-fledged participation in this format demonstrates the strategic importance our country attaches to its relations with Central Asia. The discussions held within the framework of the Consultative Meetings help further strengthen mutual trust among the countries of the region, identify new areas of cooperation and implement important initiatives for regional development. Azerbaijan’s participation in this format also demonstrates our country’s contribution to strengthening interregional cooperation. The dialogue and cooperation mechanisms established within the framework of this platform serve not only to develop interstate relations, but also to promote peace, stability and sustainable progress throughout the Eurasian space. Thus, the comprehensive cooperation developing between Azerbaijan and the countries of Central Asia is a strong example of strategic partnership based on mutual respect, trust and common interests." (click the image to read the interview in full)

"The signing of the framework agreement between Armenia and the United States on the Trump Route for Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) on June 4, 2026, and the ruling Civil Contract party’s victory in Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections have opened a window of opportunity to advance Armenia-Türkiye normalization. Türkiye, in coordination with the United States, is well positioned to seize this moment and help move the region from frozen conflict toward normalization", write Dr Benyamin Poghosyan, in this article for the Turkish publication, "Global Panorama". He adds, "TRIPP emerged from the August 2025 Washington meeting, where Armenia and Azerbaijan also initialed a peace agreement, giving fresh momentum to regional normalization. Since then, TRIPP has been moving toward implementation. The framework agreement signed on June 4 established the basis for developing and operating the route. This was followed in early July by a visit from engineers from the U.S. consulting firm AECOM, who surveyed the proposed site for rail and other infrastructure development. On July 16, the Armenian government approved a draft law to ratify the framework agreement and submitted it to the Constitutional Court. These steps were encouraging for both the Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Türkiye normalization processes, as all sides view TRIPP as part of the region’s broader transition from conflict and isolation toward connectivity and cooperation. Yet normalization has not proceeded as some may have expected, and the momentum generated in Washington is fading. The main hurdle to signing the peace agreement is Azerbaijan’s insistence that Armenia amend its constitution. The dispute centers on the preamble’s reference to Armenia’s 1990 Declaration of Independence, which cites a 1989 decision supporting the reunification of Soviet Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia’s prime minister had stated that amending the constitution had been part of the ruling party’s election platform and promised to publish a draft of the new constitution by the end of 2026. But despite its victory, the Civil Contract party did not secure the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to approve a new constitution. Even if the ruling party can persuade some opposition MPs to support it, final approval would still require a nationwide referendum, whose outcome is far from guaranteed given significant public opposition. That, in turn, has complicated Armenia-Türkiye normalization, as Ankara considers a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan a prerequisite for progress. Relations between Yerevan and Ankara have improved since 2022. In July 2022, the two sides agreed to open their border to third-country nationals and diplomatic passport holders as a first step toward full normalization. Since then, their special representatives have met several times, discussed rehabilitating the Gyumri-Kars railway, and agreed to permit direct trade. But the talks have produced no major breakthrough, and four years later, the border remains closed. This has created a vicious circle: without constitutional change, there is no Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement; without that agreement, Armenia-Türkiye normalization cannot advance; and without progress on either track, the momentum generated by the August 2025 Washington summit risks being lost. Meanwhile, the U.S. midterm elections in November may shift the Trump administration’s attention toward domestic politics, leaving roughly four months to break the deadlock and restore momentum." click the image to read the article in full)

The road across the South Caucasus could become not only a transport route but also a system of mutual commitments that makes another war prohibitively costly for all involved, writes Mehman Aliyev in this article that was first published by Turan Analytical Service. In Nakhchivan, separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenian territory, the old railway served for decades as a reminder of the disintegration of a once-unified South Caucasus. The rails remained, but regional links were severed by war, blockade and mutual distrust. Now it is here that one of the most consequential infrastructure experiments in the post-Soviet space may begin. During a visit to Nakhchivan on August 11, President Ilham Aliyev said an international consortium could be created to reconstruct the Nakhchivan railway. The controlling stake, he stressed, should belong to the Azerbaijani state, but foreign companies and organisations could be among the investors. According to the president, the European Union and several countries have already shown interest in the project. The plan concerns 194 kilometres of railway in Nakhchivan. It is expected to be modernised so that annual freight capacity can rise from the current 1.5 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes. The Armenian section of the future route is considerably shorter, at 42 kilometres. Aliyev said its construction should begin in 2026. The full text of the president’s interview shows that the consortium proposal relates primarily to the Nakhchivan railway, not to placing the Azerbaijani part of TRIPP under foreign control. That distinction matters. In official documents, TRIPP — the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” — refers to communications passing through Armenian territory. Aliyev’s proposal, however, effectively broadens the idea of international participation itself: different but interconnected models of infrastructure governance are taking shape on either side of the border. In Armenia, the leading role is assigned to an Armenian–American company. In Azerbaijan, a consortium may emerge in which the state retains control. Together, these arrangements could transform the road from the subject of a territorial dispute into an international economic asset. The project could evolve from two national sections with different management models into a single international transport organism. If Azerbaijan and Armenia take their places as co-operators and key players, the corridor could become not only a road between East and West but also the first major joint system created by the two states after decades of conflict. (click image to read article in full)