BAKU — September 1, 2025. The dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, India’s opposition to Azerbaijan’s full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the intensifying competition over Eurasian transit corridors dominated analysis by Prof. Rovshan Ibrahimov of Hankuk University (South Korea) in an interview with the program Modern Conversation.
Minsk Group formally closed
Ibrahimov described the end of the OSCE’s Minsk process as largely symbolic but decisive.
“The Minsk Group was always a mediation format, not a body with legal powers. Once Azerbaijan and Armenia jointly declared the conflict resolved, its existence lost any basis,” he said.
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He called the closure a diplomatic success for Baku, reflecting both the restoration of sovereignty and the Washington Declaration of August 8 between Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan.
SCO politics: India blocks Baku, Pakistan blocks Yerevan
Turning to the SCO summit in Tianjin, he noted India’s move to block Azerbaijan’s accession. In parallel, Pakistan opposed Armenia’s membership, even as Islamabad and Yerevan signaled readiness to establish diplomatic relations for the first time. “In international law, recognition can be implied. Even not blocking membership would have meant Pakistan recognized Armenia,” he said.
Aliyev-Putin meeting still uncertain
Speculation continues about a possible meeting between Presidents Aliyev and Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO. Ibrahimov said only a leader-to-leader dialogue could defuse tensions after recent Russian media attacks on Azerbaijan and outrage over Aliyev’s remarks describing the 1920 entry of the Red Army as an “occupation.”
Logistics: Middle Corridor runs through Baku
The professor underlined Azerbaijan’s role as the hub of the Middle Corridor. He highlighted the emerging Azerbaijan–Turkmenistan–Uzbekistan partnership:
Turkmenistan has modernized its Turkmenbashi port, now larger than Baku’s Alat, and produces its own vessels.
Uzbekistan is aggressively investing in Georgian terminals, considering ship purchases from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, and seeking a presence at Alat port.
New China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan rail links and expanded Kazakhstan–China border terminals will feed transit routes that converge in Azerbaijan before heading west.
Why it matters
The combination of the Minsk Group’s closure, the SCO’s internal politics, and renewed Central Asian engagement shows how post-war realities in the South Caucasus are embedding into wider Eurasian geopolitics.
“Whatever the side routes — via Kazakhstan or Turkmenistan — all roads now cross through Azerbaijan,” Ibrahimov concluded.
