Azerbaijan taking advantage of Russia’s war in Ukraine – political expert Chitadze

The situation on the Ukrainian front is becoming increasingly difficult for Russia, and Azerbaijan is trying to take advantage of the situation and restore control over its own territory, political analyst Nika Chitadze told Front News on Tuesday. 

The analyst suggested that renewed hostilities on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border were related to a “mine” left by Russia in previous years.

“I think that Russia left the mine when in November 2020, at its initiative, hostilities were allegedly stopped. Russia had specifically planned not to fully restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Armenia retained control over part of the territory of Azerbaijan, I mean the Lachin corridor, as well as the city of Stefanakert.

“I think that at the current stage, when Russia is involved in the war on the territory of Ukraine, in the light of sanctions imposed on Russia, it is trying to have allies. It considers Turkey as one of its potential allies, therefore Russia may be turning a blind eye to the processes taking place in Karabakh. A few days ago, at the beginning of September, Azerbaijan occupied a part of the corridor. By doing this, Russia is trying to gain the loyalty of Turkey, and on the other hand, Azerbaijan is trying to take advantage of the situation and restore control over its own territory”, Chitadze said. 

The expert stated that Armenia was trying to drag Russia into the war, to remind it of its obligations under the collective security agreement.

“Armenia is trying to present the situation to the international community as if hostilities are taking place on the territory of Armenia”, Chitadze said.