War in Nagorno-Karabakh Is a Gamechanger in Russian-Turkish Relations

War in Nagorno-Karabakh Is a Gamechanger in Russian-Turkish Relations

After Turkey downed a Russian jet operating in Syria in late 2015, there was a major risk that the Syrian War could explode into a greater conflict between the two Eurasian countries. The Turkish attack resulted in the death of two Russian servicemen and relations between Moscow and Ankara were again tested in December 2016…

RAND and the Malevolent Encirclement of Russia

RAND and the Malevolent Encirclement of Russia

Over recent weeks a series of events in the states surrounding the Russian Federation has erupted that certainly are not being greeted with joy in the Kremlin. Each crisis center of itself is not a definitive game-changer for future Russian security. Taken together they suggest something far more ominous is unfolding against Moscow. A recent…

Karabagh: NATO Supports Turkey While Seeking to Eliminate President Erdoğan

Karabagh: NATO Supports Turkey While Seeking to Eliminate President Erdoğan

This article is a follow-up to : “Will the Artsakh (Karabagh) be the tomb of Erdoğan ?“ The war has been going on in Nagorno-Karabakh since September 27, 2020. The superiority of the Azerbaijani forces is obvious, both in number and in the quality of their weaponry. The first line of defense of the Artsakhae…

NATO, Energy Geopolitics and Conflict in Caucasus

NATO, Energy Geopolitics and Conflict in Caucasus

Rarely are geopolitical events innocently coincidental, as an old saying goes. Let’s look at a few recent upheavals. First we have the renewed pressure on Germany and Europe to abandon the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from Russia, which the strange Navalny affair and his alleged poison-assassination conveniently gives cover to what would otherwise be an…

Scenario Forecasting: What Could a Russian Intervention in Nagorno-Karabakh Look Like?

Scenario Forecasting: What Could a Russian Intervention in Nagorno-Karabakh Look Like?

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s suggestion to deploy Russian peacekeepers and military observers into the universally recognized Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and its seven surrounding districts under Armenian occupation pending both sides’ agreement raises the prospect of Moscow’s military intervention in this conflict, which is worthwhile examining since this scenario isn’t as far-fetched as some might…

Can and Should Russia Stop the War in the Caucasus?

Can and Should Russia Stop the War in the Caucasus?

This war is officially a war between Azerbaijan and the (unrecognized) Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (RNK) aka “Republic of Artsakh” (ROA) which I shall refer to simply as Nagorno Karabakh or “NK”. As is often the case, the reality is much more complicated. For one thing, Erdogan’s Turkey has been deeply involved since Day 1…