Where Russia, Turkey, Iran stand in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
Where Russia, Turkey, Iran stand in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
The war raging between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has dragged in a complex web of foreign countries.
The neighboring former-Soviet states are fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is controlled by the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, an ethnically Armenian enclave that is internationally recognized to be a part of Azerbaijan but has never been under Azeri rule.
The current flare-up is the most serious escalation since the early 1990s and has raised tensions between key regional actors, most notably Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Israel.
Here is where each country stands on the conflict.
Ethnic Armenians volunteer recruits gather at a center where they receive their uniforms and weapons. (AP)
Russia: Regional powerhouse trying to mediate
Russia is the most influential country in the South Caucasus region but has remained on the sidelines in the current flare-up and called for an end to hostilities.
Russia has a military base in Armenia and sells arms to both Armenia and Azerbaijan in a balancing act that gives it considerable influence and leverage over both countries.
Over the years, Moscow has used its position to play the role of a mediator.
According to Laurence Broers, Associate Fellow of the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House, Russia has a security-driven approach based on the idea of “pivotal deterrence,” a term he coined.
“[Russia] is a pivot moving between Armenia and Azerbaijan with a range of different kinds of policies, being a security guarantor to Armenia, providing weapons to both sides and mediation initiatives,” Broers told Al Arabiya English. According to Broers, the recent escalation is a dilemma for Moscow. On the one hand, Russia is a co-chair of the main mediation entity for this conflict.
