Azerbaijan attack stirs fears of new war in Europe’s backyard

EUROPEAN politics has been convulsed in the last year and a half by the Ukraine conflict. Now, there are concerns of a second war in the European Union’s (EU) backyard, after Azerbaijan forces began a military offensive on Tuesday (Sep 19) against Armenian positions in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

While a shaky ceasefire was agreed on Wednesday, the continued possibility of a new war in the Caucasus is a significant worry for the 27 EU member states – not least for their energy security policy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Last summer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled to mineral-rich Azerbaijan to sign a memorandum of understanding on gas supplies with President Ilham Aliyev.