NEWTIMES

When U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton tweeted that he will be visiting Azerbaijan on October 20 it could not have come sooner. This secular Muslim country of 9 million is one of America's most reliable yet underappreciated allies on the world stage. Mr. Bolton should use his visit to this geopolitically significant country sandwiched between a dangerous Russia and adventurous Iran to reiterate Washington's unwavering, strong and unabashed support for America's ally of over 26 years.

There is no need to prove how crucial it is to find a solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The whole world realizes this. Unfortunately, the Armenian leaders find it very difficult to understand the significance of settling the dispute in a peaceful manner. Nikol Pashinyan`s government makes controversial statements on the conflict. Against this background, Vladimir Putin`s visit to Baku, which was immediately followed by the summit of the CIS heads of state in Dushanbe, is of particular importance from several points of view. Experts are studying possible connections between vital statements made by the Russian President in the Azerbaijani capital and Pashinyan`s aspiration to speak with Ilham Aliyev in Dushanbe. The Azerbaijani President agreed to talk with the Armenian prime minister, which made the Armenians very happy. They described the fact that President Ilham Aliyev and Pashinyan reached agreement on some issues as a step forward. We would like to look at the current situation in the light of Vladimir Putin`s Baku visit and the summit in Dushanbe.

The aggravating geopolitical battle among superpowers is in the media spotlight. Disagreements among the US, Russia and Iran are deepening, which mainly affects the Middle East problem. These countries have taken a tough position on the Syrian problem. The US and Iranian presidents exchanged taunts during the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. This was followed by a terrorist attack at a military parade in the city of Ahvaz in Iran. Against a background of such dangerous processes, the developments in the South Caucasus accelerated. The presidents of Turkey and Russia visited Azerbaijan. Nikol Pashinyan met with Hassan Rouhani in New York. Georgia called on Russia to pull out its military from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. What are the main signs of geopolitical processes in the South Caucasus against a background of these developments? We`ll try to find an answer to this question.

A delegation led by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman arrived for an official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan on September 13. In the capital, Baku, Lieberman held meetings with the military and political leadership of this largest south Caucasus country. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received the delegation, hailing the enhancement of relations in economic, military, cultural, and tourism fields was hailed at the meeting. The sides expressed their hope that the visit would contribute to expansion of bilateral cooperation.

Because the World Trade Organization tends to operate beneath the surface of the global rules-based trading system, it is easy for people to forget the indispensable role that it plays. But now that the Trump administration is waging a quiet war on the institution, the international community must stop taking it for granted.

The Turkish, Russian and Iranian presidents` discussing Idlib in Tehran has grabbed global media spotlight. The trilateral summit was followed by discussions at the United Nations, which resulted in seven member states making a joint statement, demanding a political and diplomatic solution to the problem. Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden were among them. The statement affirmed support for Turkey`s efforts to push for a peaceful resolution. It also hailed Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s and Vladimir Putin`s call to find a political and diplomatic solution to Idlib problem. The Syrian opposition`s representative to the UN unequivocally stressed the necessity of supporting Ankara`s position. He said Turkey plays a key role in seeking peace in Syria. Against this background, there is a need to assess geopolitical importance of the Tehran summit and analyze the issues discussed there.

The last quarter of the 20th century was the heyday of political globalisation. The defeat of communism marked a clear victory for the West and the neoliberal order. According to literature that emerged around this time, the North-centred world order was expected to continue operating smoothly on the platform constructed by the political and economic institutions established after World War II. Approaches and theories that criticised this notion relied on the thesis that "order" could only suffer an existential threat via external influences.

Any post-Trump US president will confront a fundamental question. Can the US promote democratic values without military intervention and crusades, and at the same time take a non-hegemonic lead in establishing and maintaining the institutions needed for a world of interdependence?

The US media are reporting about Washington's plans to embark on a new project that is aimed at forming an anti-Iranian military bloc consisting of several Arab countries. The United States is reported to be planning to organize a summit of Arab states to discuss the issue. But which Muslim countries will be involved in the process is still a question. The media reports highlight a lot of unclear points in Arab countries` relationship both with each other and with Iran. Spreading such reports is quite dangerous. Certain political, ideological, diplomatic and military factors should be taken into account here and, most importantly, the possible influence of these factors on the sectarian divide. In this article, we would like to look at possible consequences of the creation of Arab NATO.

As an independent nation, Azerbaijan has initiated a number of international projects. TANAP is the one that stands out because prior to that project all eyes were on a project called "NABUCCO". However, it was eventually scrapped, with the Western countries to be blamed for its failure to materialize. Consequently, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, together with Turkey, launched discussions on a new project. Leadership of two brotherly nations decided to move forward with a new project called TANAP. Indeed, they were some that attempted to question its feasibility and undermine the confidence in the project. However, the political will of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey prevented the project from stalling and ultimately, the inauguration of TANAP had taken place in Eskishehir, Turkey on 12 June. The geopolitical and historic importance of that event deserves great attention.