Legal framework of Azerbaijan's foreign policy with the CIS countries

Abstract

This article explores the legal framework of the foreign policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the post-Soviet space. This topic gains special relevance on the background of changes in the regional distribution of potentials after the Second Karabakh War. The subject of this research is the main agreements signed by Azerbaijan with the CIS countries in a bilateral format, as well as within the organization. Emphasis is placed on the normative legal documents that form the foundation of foreign policy relations in the military-political, economic, energy, and transport sectors as the highest priority for the country. Special attention is given to the analysis of legal institutionalization of Azerbaijan's foreign policy in the post-Soviet space in conjunction with the evolution of foreign policy concept of the country. The article employs general dialectical, logical, historical and formal-legal methods for determining the key trends and characteristics of the legal framework of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. The scientific novelty consists in periodization of the development of legal framework of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy: the first period was under the Presidency of Ayaz Mutalibov and Abulfaz Elchibey, the third covers the period from the autumn of 1993 to the late 1990s, and the fourth is since 2000. The first period marks sporadic nature of Azerbaijan's relations with the CIS countries. During the second period, the country joined multilateral institutions that emerged in the post-Soviet space. The third stage is characterized by transition towards the development of bilateral relations with the CIS countries, and shifting away from multilateral approach. It is worth noting, that this research is focused namely on examination of the legal framework Azerbaijan's foreign policy, rather than the generally accepted in the Russian scientific literature political-legal approach, which considers the normative documents in the context of political processes.