Azerbaijan, a land locked country in South Caucasia, gained independence in 1991 after the break-up of the USSR. It is surrounded by Russia, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, and Turkey and is compelled to depend on a balancing act in its diplomacy to protect its sovereignty and survive. In April 2018, it reiterated its intention to host the 2019 Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Baku and take on