After the Start of the War in Ukraine, EU Leaders Bet on Azerbaijan

After the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, European Union leaders placed their bets on Azerbaijan as an energy partner to reduce dependence on Russian gas, reports the BBC's Russian service.

Critics say the outcome has been widespread repression in Azerbaijan, while the EU has betrayed its principles by failing to resolve gas-related issues.

This May, footage of a warm meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and senior EU officials in Tirana outraged critics of the Azerbaijani leader. Just a month earlier, EU foreign diplomacy chief Kaia Kallas had visited Baku at the height of media persecution and immediately after the closure of major UN representations and the Red Cross office in the country.

A new phase in relations between the two sides began in July 2022 when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared Azerbaijan a "key partner in efforts to abandon Russian fossil fuels." Over the next three years, Ilham Aliyev was elected president for the fifth time, while his tenure extended beyond 21 years.

His power was bolstered by a decisive victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, which led to the mass exodus of the entire Armenian population from the region. The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan has reportedly risen from over one hundred to more than 350, while independent journalists have begun to be sent to prison in entire editorial teams, the BBC highlights.

Brussels rejects these criticisms, but what cards could Baku hold in its relations with the EU?