The dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is similar to that in the Middle East in many ways except that it is more likely to be resolved if it is paid some high-level international attention, particularly from the United States.

Russia is the world’s biggest hydrocarbon producer, and China is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing energy markets. The two are neighbors, yet their energy relationship is very thin. Instead, they compete for vast and largely unexplored Central Asian resources.