diff --git a/examples/azure-openai/azure_openai_neo4j.py b/examples/azure-openai/azure_openai_neo4j.py
index f8965a53..8ac652b0 100644
--- a/examples/azure-openai/azure_openai_neo4j.py
+++ b/examples/azure-openai/azure_openai_neo4j.py
@@ -53,9 +53,6 @@ neo4j_uri = os.environ.get("NEO4J_URI", "bolt://localhost:7687")
 neo4j_user = os.environ.get("NEO4J_USER", "neo4j")
 neo4j_password = os.environ.get("NEO4J_PASSWORD", "password")
 
-if not neo4j_uri or not neo4j_user or not neo4j_password:
-    raise ValueError("NEO4J_URI, NEO4J_USER, and NEO4J_PASSWORD must be set")
-
 # Azure OpenAI connection parameters
 azure_endpoint = os.environ.get("AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT")
 azure_api_key = os.environ.get("AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY")
diff --git a/graphiti_core/embedder/azure_openai.py b/graphiti_core/embedder/azure_openai.py
index be24b563..5b2ab202 100644
--- a/graphiti_core/embedder/azure_openai.py
+++ b/graphiti_core/embedder/azure_openai.py
@@ -25,7 +25,10 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class AzureOpenAIEmbedderClient(EmbedderClient):
-    """Wrapper class for AsyncAzureOpenAI that implements the EmbedderClient interface."""
+    """Wrapper class for Azure OpenAI that implements the EmbedderClient interface.
+
+    Supports both AsyncAzureOpenAI and AsyncOpenAI (with Azure v1 API endpoint).
+    """
 
     def __init__(
         self,
diff --git a/graphiti_core/llm_client/azure_openai_client.py b/graphiti_core/llm_client/azure_openai_client.py
index 118ed9ba..3604afd6 100644
--- a/graphiti_core/llm_client/azure_openai_client.py
+++ b/graphiti_core/llm_client/azure_openai_client.py
@@ -28,7 +28,10 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class AzureOpenAILLMClient(BaseOpenAIClient):
-    """Wrapper class for AsyncAzureOpenAI that implements the LLMClient interface."""
+    """Wrapper class for Azure OpenAI that implements the LLMClient interface.
+
+    Supports both AsyncAzureOpenAI and AsyncOpenAI (with Azure v1 API endpoint).
+    """
 
     # Class-level constants
     MAX_RETRIES: ClassVar[int] = 2
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 658efb3d..96e334b9 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -36,9 +36,7 @@ neo4j-opensearch = ["boto3>=1.39.16", "opensearch-py>=3.0.0"]
 sentence-transformers = ["sentence-transformers>=3.2.1"]
 neptune = ["langchain-aws>=0.2.29", "opensearch-py>=3.0.0", "boto3>=1.39.16"]
 tracing = ["opentelemetry-api>=1.20.0", "opentelemetry-sdk>=1.20.0"]
-azure = ["azure-identity>=1.25.1"]
 dev = [
-    "azure-identity>=1.25.1",
     "pyright>=1.1.404",
     "groq>=0.2.0",
     "anthropic>=0.49.0",