Azerbaijan has bought oil and natural gas from Russia to meet internal demand while exporting its own energy riches to the West. Russia also has been the main market for Azerbaijan’s fruit and vegetable exports. It also is a key transport corridor for Russia’s trade with Iran and other partners in the Middle East.

Once strategic partners in the post-Soviet order, Russia and Azerbaijan are drifting into open hostility. From diplomatic snubs to deaths in custody and geopolitical realignments, ties between Moscow and Baku are under unprecedented strain.

BAKU/MOSCOW (Reuters) -Authorities in Azerbaijan arrested two journalists from the local branch of a Russian state news agency on Monday in a move likely to further stoke tensions with Moscow following arrests in Russia of ethnic Azerbaijanis suspected of serious crimes.