Analysis
Economy & Tech
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Production Surge: Impacts on Russia and European Energy Security
6 December 2024
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.
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.