Revitalised Karabakh & Azerbaijan’s growing role in shaping conversations Article by EU Reports

The US-based EU Reports website has published an article by Argentine journalist Cecilia Degl’Innocenti on the reconstruction of Karabakh and Azerbaijan’s growing role in world politics. Caliber.Az reprints some excerpts of the piece.

“The road to Shusha, a strategic city located in the mountainous Upper Karabakh region, tells Azerbaijan’s recent history better than any official speech. 

While soldiers still watch over the surrounding mountains that serve as a natural limit with its neighbor, entire neighborhoods remain empty while de-mining operations continue after decades of conflict. 

Yet just a few kilometers away from these ghosts of war, cranes dominate the skyline as the region welcomes international visitors to restored landmarks that, until recently, stood at the heart of one of the South Caucasus’ longest-running territorial disputes.

That contrast framed this year’s Shusha Global Media Forum, where more than 140 journalists, editors, media executives and policy experts from over 50 countries gathered to debate artificial intelligence, misinformation and the future of journalism.

Beneath the official agenda, however, another story unfolded: Azerbaijan’s push to position itself as a hub for diplomacy, connectivity and international dialogue, in an intent to leave behind nearly four decades of conflict. 

Shusha: International hub

Located in the Caucasus Mountains, the small resort town of Shusha sits at one of Eurasia’s most vital strategic crossroads, bordered by Russia to the north, Iran to the south and Türkiye to the west. 

For centuries, the peoples of the region found themselves caught between competing empires – the Persian, Ottoman and Russian – each seeking control over a corridor between the Black and Caspian seas linking Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The Soviet Union was the last imperial power to dominate the region.

Although Azerbaijan, the first secular republic from the Muslim World, regained its independence in 1991, Soviet influence remains deeply embedded in everyday life. From language and cuisine to architecture and social customs, it creates a unique cultural synthesis that still shapes the country’s identity, particularly in the capital, Baku.

Another legacy of Soviet rule was the decades-long Karabakh conflict with neighboring Armenia, which ended with the peace agreement signed on August 8, 2025, at the White House in Washington D.C. 

Negotiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, this understanding laid the groundwork for the reopening of the borders and mutual sovereignty recognition after almost forty years of war.

Shusha still bears visible scars of war and displacement.  Abandoned buildings seem frozen in time while creating a strong contrast with the rapid reconstruction efforts in areas such as the Karabag Street, which leads to the famous Govhar Agha Mosque.

The geopolitical dimension

Given Azerbaijan’s strategic value and recent history, discussions at the forum inevitably took on a geopolitical bent, particularly during President Ilham Aliyev’s question-and-answer session.

For nearly four hours, Aliyev answered dozens of questions covering virtually every aspect of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, from regional security and transport corridors to energy exports, relations with the European Union.

Throughout the exchange, he repeatedly returned to Azerbaijan’s strategic geography. 

“The situation in the Middle East now makes this corridor more attractive,” he said, referring to transport routes crossing the country that have gained renewed importance amid the wars in Iran 

He highlighted that Azerbaijan began supplying natural gas to Germany and Austria this year, expanding exports that already reach 16 countries through its pipeline network. 

Referring to the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial sovereignty, Aliyev concluded: Addressing the issue of restoring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, President Aliyev noted that Baku had tried to resolve the matter peacefully, but that approach had not worked. Therefore, force was used to restore the state’s sovereignty. “We stopped when we needed to stop. That is important,” he said.

Azerbaijan’s growing international relevance

Outside the formal sessions, another idea surfaced repeatedly in conversations with analysts attending the forum: Azerbaijan’s growing relevance not only in an increasingly contested Eurasian landscape but also in the global geopolitical arena amid the intensifying competition between great powers.

Speaking with EU Reports, Washington-based analyst Ken Moriyasu described Azerbaijan as one of eight Eurasian “swing states” whose strategic choices could increasingly shape competition among the United States, China and Russia. 

Much like swing states in U.S. presidential elections, these middle powers, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan, sit along the main corridors linking Europe and Asia, many of them rich in natural gas, oil and critical minerals.

Viewed through that lens, the Shusha Global Media Forum appeared to be more than an annual conference on journalism. 

As the bus to the Fuzuli Airport took a wrong turn through the roads of Karabakh –offering an unexpected final glimpse of abandoned villages, reconstruction sites, military checkpoints and curious, friendly locals surprised by the diverse delegation – the contrast that had defined the previous four days came into focus once again,” the author wrote.