Azerbaijan (Azeri: Azərbaycan) 4 5 6 - officially Republic of Azerbaijan (in Azeri: Azərbaycan Respublikası) to differentiate it from Iranian Azerbaijan - it is the largest sovereign country in the Caucasus region, located between Western Asia and Eastern Europe.note 1 It borders on the east with the Caspian Sea, on the north with Russia, on the northwest with Georgia, on the west with Armenia and on the south with Iran. The exclave of Nakhichevan borders Armenia to the north and east, with Iran to the south and west and shares a small border with Turkey to the northwest.

Azerbaijan has a historical and ancient cultural heritage. In addition to being the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theaters and plays, it is one of the Muslim countries with the greatest support for religious secularism and tolerance, 7 except for the Jehovah's Witnesses, who are subjecting the authorities to persecution. that undermines human rights.8 In 1918 the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, the first secular and democratic republic in the Islamic world, was established, but it became part of the Soviet Union from 1920 until its independence in 1991.12 13 Later, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenia occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh region as well as other territories and enclaves previously found in Azerbaijani power. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which emerged in the region, continues without the diplomatic recognition of any nation and is still considered de jure as part of Azerbaijan, despite being de facto independent since the end of the war.