Between Yerevan and Baku, the battle for influence is in full swing, with disinformation campaigns being waged by both sides. Meanwhile, the traditional allies and opponents of both countries are caught in the crossfire.
In the battle between the French and Azerbaijani intelligence services, both sides have detained an individual potentially linked to an agency of the opposing side. Russia's decision to request the extradition of the Azerbaijani individual on attention-grabbing accusations of terrorism has made the situation doubly complicated for the French authorities.
As the two countries engage in a new diplomatic spat, the pre-trial detention of a Frenchman accused by Baku of spying for Paris has been extended. An exiled Azerbaijani who claims to be an informer for a French spy agency has also been refused asylum in France.
The US lobbyist, which has been contracted by Armenian opposition group National Democratic Alliance, has already built strong connections to US security networks in Congress for its other clients, especially Qatar and Ukraine.
Paris has been surprised by the destabilisation operations carried out since last year by Azerbaijan. France's external intelligence service has nevertheless managed to identify the agents carrying out these operations for President Ilham Aliyev's regime.
Chris Stewart's job will be to reinvigorate the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, following the Henry Cuellar scandal.
The controversial figure of Armenian businessman Ruben Vardanyan, who is awaiting trial in Azerbaijan, appears to be the catalyst for a wave of separate suspected influence campaigns stemming from Russia, Azerbaijan, the United States and France.
In the current diplomatic stand-off between France and Azerbaijan, both countries have a trick up their sleeves. Each holds a national of the other, supposedly linked to the other's intelligence services, who could be used for a prisoner exchange.
The Armenian government, which is looking for lobbyists and communications consultants in the West, has hired the services of a veteran British defence industry adviser.
Across the globe, spies gather in inconspicuous dens to meet contacts and hold discreet conversations. This week, Intelligence Online explores the Blue Mosque in Yerevan, a focal point for Iranian diplomacy in the Caucasus that is run by Iran and is home to the cultural attaché of the Iranian embassy.
Ex-NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen penned an op-ed in support of Armenia in Le Monde on 4 April, but his article failed to mention that his firm has lobbied for Yerevan since last year.
The French ambassador to Armenia has again been the target of a disinformation campaign. A screenshot obtained by us indicates his phone may have been hacked by Israeli NSO Group's Pegasus spyware. This destabilisation operation forms part of a broader stand-off between France and Azerbaijan.
Virulent attacks targeting the French ambassador to Armenia have mobilised the French governmental network tasked with combating informational attacks. Networks linked to Azerbaijan are under close surveillance.
Posters criticising France and its ambassador have been popping up in the Armenian capital, an operation that pro-West activists believe Russia is behind. These struggles for influence and disinformation campaigns are slipping out beyond Armenia's borders.
