Why the flare-up between Armenia and Azerbaijan? A Russian-brokered ceasefire seems to be holding so far, after the worst fighting since last year's 44-day war over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. This time, it's also a border dispute – one that was being negotiated.
We ask about the stakes surrounding what is a crossroads for neighbours like Iran and Turkey and the role played by Russia, broker of last year's truce and allied both with Armenia – where it has a military base – and with oil-rich Azerbaijan, whose leader Ilham Aliyev has proved deft at courting both Moscow and Ankara.
Can the Kremlin play peacemaker in the Caucusus while it takes on NATO and the EU on its Western front? Thirty years on, what does it all say about the former Soviet Union?
Produced by Charles Wente, Juliette Laurain and Imen Mellaz.