Obligatory disclaimer: written by Joshua Kucera. However, overall didn’t seem a bad one.
>The shift from hard power to regional transportation projects should be seen as a sort of strategic retreat for Russia in the Caucasus, said Laurence Broers, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank.
>”The departure of Russia’s peacekeeping mission from Karabakh…represents a significant strategic win for Baku,” Broers wrote on X. “Regional powers, especially Russia and Iran, are working together to establish a new strategic equilibrium in the South Caucasus. This is Russia’s next-best option to unilateral hegemony and which could offset the loss of hegemonic power plays — such as its peacekeeping mission in Karabakh.”
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>Meanwhile, hard-line Russian politician Leonid Slutsky recently called Aliyev “the most reliable leader in the post-Soviet space.”
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>The key project for Moscow is the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC), a series of rail, ship, and road routes connecting Russia to Iran and its Persian Gulf ports. The most promising route goes through Azerbaijan, the only country that borders both Russia and Iran and which already has a railroad connecting the two countries.
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>In 2016, Azerbaijan agreed to partially finance the construction (along with Iran) before dropping the project two years later because of international sanctions against Iran. Now, it will be Russia footing the bill to build the Rasht-Astara line.
>Putin has repeatedly spoken of the INSTC as a key element in plans to reorient the world economy away from Western dominance. And the BAM anniversary gave him occasion to reiterate that.
2 Comments
Obligatory disclaimer: written by Joshua Kucera. However, overall didn’t seem a bad one.
>The shift from hard power to regional transportation projects should be seen as a sort of strategic retreat for Russia in the Caucasus, said Laurence Broers, an associate fellow at the Chatham House think tank.
>”The departure of Russia’s peacekeeping mission from Karabakh…represents a significant strategic win for Baku,” Broers wrote on X. “Regional powers, especially Russia and Iran, are working together to establish a new strategic equilibrium in the South Caucasus. This is Russia’s next-best option to unilateral hegemony and which could offset the loss of hegemonic power plays — such as its peacekeeping mission in Karabakh.”
…
>Meanwhile, hard-line Russian politician Leonid Slutsky recently called Aliyev “the most reliable leader in the post-Soviet space.”
…
>The key project for Moscow is the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC), a series of rail, ship, and road routes connecting Russia to Iran and its Persian Gulf ports. The most promising route goes through Azerbaijan, the only country that borders both Russia and Iran and which already has a railroad connecting the two countries.
…
>In 2016, Azerbaijan agreed to partially finance the construction (along with Iran) before dropping the project two years later because of international sanctions against Iran. Now, it will be Russia footing the bill to build the Rasht-Astara line.
>Putin has repeatedly spoken of the INSTC as a key element in plans to reorient the world economy away from Western dominance. And the BAM anniversary gave him occasion to reiterate that.
RF is CIA garbage