https://arab.news/24yvw

In recent days, relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have entered a new phase of unprecedented tension due to several incidents and shifting geopolitical dynamics in the South Caucasus. These tensions hold significant implications not only for Baku and Moscow, but also for Turkiye, a close ally of Azerbaijan and a country that has long walked a fine line in its relations with Russia, despite being a NATO member.

Ankara’s response to the escalating tension between Baku and Moscow seems to be strategically measured. Turkiye has urged restraint from both sides and expressed its concern over the broader instability in the South Caucasus. However, beneath these calls for calm lie well-calculated foreign policy considerations based on Turkiye’s regional ambitions and relations with both sides. Understanding how Ankara perceives the tensions between Baku and Moscow and what it means for its foreign policy in the region is important.

The tensions between Russia and Azerbaijan have been simmering beneath the surface for some time but have peaked recently. Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war has fueled its ambitions and encouraged President Ilham Aliyev, who has been in power since 2003, to pursue a foreign policy that is less reliant on Moscow.

Three significant events have led Russia to lose its previously held influence on Azerbaijan and the broader South Caucasus: Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh victory, the prolonged war in Ukraine, and its loss of a key ally in Syria. These developments have also........

© Arab News Pakistan