Although Azerbaijan’s “uneasy” neighbors, Russia and Iran, have recently voiced mixed, sometimes even threatening political rhetoric, the economic processes in the region appear to be moving in a very different direction. Once again, Azerbaijan finds itself on the verge of playing a pivotal role between these two countries.

Iran has expressed optimism about the imminent launch of Russian gas transportation through Azerbaijan, noting that most outstanding issues with Gazprom have already been resolved.

“Iran hopes that it will be possible to start transporting Russian gas via Azerbaijan in the near future, and almost all issues with Gazprom have already been resolved,” Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told TASS.

“We hope that this will happen in the near future. We are currently negotiating with Gazprom, and practically all issues have already been resolved. But we need to reach a general agreement on the price. If this issue is also resolved, then everything will be put into operation,” he added.

Earlier, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Sivlyov announced at the 18th meeting of the Russia-Iran Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation that the first transportation of Russian gas via Azerbaijan’s existing infrastructure is expected to begin in 2025, with an annual volume of 1.8 billion cubic meters. Although Baku has made no official statement, prior meetings between Iran and Russia touched on this issue.

Iran’s ambitions, however, go much........

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