By AZE.US
Azerbaijan is strengthening its bargaining position through transport projects that connect the interests of China, Europe, Russia and Iran, regional analyst Rizvan Huseynov said.
Huseynov said Azerbaijan’s growing role at the intersection of competing trade routes is forcing outside powers to take account of a changing balance in the South Caucasus. He made the comments in an interview with the Daily Europe Online YouTube channel, according to the Russian-language report by Vesti Baku.
His remarks were presented as an assessment of Azerbaijan’s regional leverage, not as an official government statement.
Huseynov argued that Azerbaijan’s significance now extends beyond oil and gas exports or the transit of individual cargo shipments. In his view, Baku is becoming one of the central links connecting Central Asian economies with European markets, giving Azerbaijan more room to pursue an independent foreign policy and negotiate with partners whose interests do not always align.
He highlighted what he described as a “Central Asia plus Azerbaijan” format bringing Baku together with the five Central Asian states. Huseynov said cooperation should include humanitarian ties as well as transport and energy. He also cautioned against treating the format as exclusively Turkic, noting that Persian-speaking Tajikistan is one of the five Central Asian participants.
Several Routes, Several Centers of Power
Huseynov said Azerbaijan’s strategy rests on developing several transport directions rather than becoming dependent on one corridor.
The Middle Corridor across the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus is important to China and European countries, while Russia gives priority to the International North-South Transport Corridor. Iran, meanwhile, is seeking its own access to regional transport networks. Even within the east-west route, he said, governments differ over which countries and ports should handle cargo.
Azerbaijan sits at the intersection of these interests and can offer its partners different options for cooperation, Huseynov said.
He pointed to transport links through Georgia, the prospect of opening a route through southern Armenia and infrastructure through Iran. Maintaining several directions would make the wider network more resilient and help Baku manage relations with neighboring states, he said.
Azerbaijan’s practical advantage, according to Huseynov, is its willingness to invest in infrastructure and convert political initiatives into operating projects. In a related development, the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe said on Sept. 25 that electronic TIR operations had expanded across the Caspian Sea, enabling paperless transit between Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Moscow Faces a Changed Regional Landscape
Huseynov linked the recent easing of tensions between Baku and Moscow to what he described as Russia’s gradual recognition of new regional realities.
Trans-Caspian projects had long faced Russian resistance because they gave Central Asian countries additional routes to Europe, he said. Huseynov argued that Moscow now appears more willing to accommodate those projects as Azerbaijan’s position grows stronger.
He said Baku’s ability to defend its interests in dealings with larger powers was built on its economic base, military capacity, infrastructure investment and personnel policy. Those capabilities accumulated over roughly two decades, he said, and cannot be replaced by diplomatic rhetoric alone.
Russia must show greater flexibility if it wants to preserve influence and working relationships across the post-Soviet region, Huseynov said. For neighboring states, that creates an opportunity to reconsider the terms of cooperation and expand the space for independent decisions.
Peace With Armenia Must Withstand Crises
Huseynov also addressed relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He said a key measure of progress toward peace is whether the two governments can maintain dialogue when serious incidents occur.
Discussing an Azerbaijani serviceman who entered Armenian territory, Huseynov said he hoped the case would be resolved through legal procedures and direct interstate engagement. He did not present a specific resolution in the interview.
Huseynov said the stability of the peace process still depends heavily on the working relationship between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He described their joint visit to an exhibition about Karabakh as a significant political signal.
At the same time, he warned against overstating the progress already made. The consequences of the long conflict remain painful in both societies, he said, and supporters of renewed confrontation could exploit new incidents.
Further progress will depend on preserving calm dialogue and strengthening public understanding that a return to war would bring fresh losses to both countries, Huseynov said.
AZE.US