EU will ignore Azerbaijan’s repression of minority

Significance

The arrests are connected with continuing tensions with Iran, stemming from an attack on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran in January. They have profound implications for Azerbaijani civil society, especially its much-touted religious tolerance, and for the integrity of the law enforcement system.

Impacts

• Accusations of an Iranian connection will amplify enmity between Azerbaijan and Iran.
• Such accusations also seem intended to suggest Baku is aligning more closely with Europe.
• Azerbaijan’s eagerness to supply Europe with gas is a longer-term effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.