Russia’s Reorientation Towards Baku Leaves Armenia in the Cold 

Azerbaijan takes control of Nagorno-Karabakh 

28 September 2023

Tied up in Ukraine, Russia seeks to maintain influence in the region by switching support to Baku and endorsing its latest grab for Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan’s attack on the ethnic Armenian enclave left the EU embarrassed.

For decades, Armenia was seen as Russia’s most important ally in the South Caucasus. It was not really a friendship but rather a toxic dependency, from which perhaps Yerevan is just now trying to free itself.

This comes at a cost, the brunt of which is carried by Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-dominated enclave in Azerbaijan.

Anti-terrorist operation 

On 19 September, Azerbaijan, in response to what it called a “provocation” by Armenians, launched an “anti-terrorist operation” in Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku’s demands were threefold: withdrawal of Armenian troops from the region, disarmament of separatist forces, and dissolution of all Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous government structures.

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Agnieszka Filipiak

Journalist and author of a newsletter about the Southern Caucasus: agfilipiak.substack.com; Deputy Editor in Chief Forbes Women Poland.

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