International security

War Haunts Russia’s Southern Fringe, Threatening Pipelines

Russia’s southern periphery is closer to open war than at any time since the 1990s.Hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia are mounting 21 years after a cease-fire froze a conflict that flared in the dying days of the Soviet Union. During the relative calm, companies including BP Plc poured billions of dollars into producing oil and gas in Azerbaijan and building pipelines to link the country with southern Italy.