Although it has gone largely unnoticed by mainstream media, Azerbaijan has recently been at the center of a diplomatic frenzy, with Azerbaijani officials meeting around the clock with their Russian and European counterparts. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov was in Moscow from May 24-26, where he not only met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, but also Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, two key figures within the Kremlin power circle. Conversely, Mammadyarov attended the EU Eastern Partnership summit in Riga from May 22-23, where EU officials played up Azerbaijan's importance to the European Union. Azerbaijan has long been considered a crucial swing state in the competition for influence in European and Eurasian borderlands, both in terms of its location and its wealth of energy resources.