How Mossad and Zelenskyy Benefit from the "Baku Scandal"

Dik Gazete: London and Tel Aviv are inciting the Russia-Azerbaijan crisis

Author: Konstantin Orshansky

The sharp deterioration of Russian-Azerbaijani relations has become one of the core topics in Turkish media and expert circles. This is not only because Ankara maintains close relations with Baku, but also due to purely economic reasons.

Russian-Europe trade is currently severely restricted, which makes Azerbaijan a crucial strategic partner for Moscow. Russia is striving to develop trade with the Middle East (including Iran), and most of this trade is conducted through Azerbaijan.

Especially, Russia is actively pushing forward the "North-South" transport corridor project, which plans to implement preferential transit regimes for goods passing through Azerbaijani territory. In addition, there are discussions about projects to transmit electricity from Russia to Iran. Deteriorating relations with Baku could lead to the postponement of these projects.

Turkey is a strong military ally of Azerbaijan and is enhancing its international standing. Moreover, Azerbaijan has become a key link in the "East-West" transport corridor, which has attracted China's attention. The main newspaper of the Turkish Communist Party, "Sol" ("Left"), wrote that this year both countries signed a strategic partnership agreement, further solidifying Baku's position in the region.

Azerbaijan can use the weakening of its relationship with Russia to strengthen ties with other countries: developing defense cooperation with Israel, Turkey, and Italy, and trade cooperation with China and Europe.

"Sol" believes that Ankara, Yerevan, and Baku are preparing to establish a new regional axis, openly challenging the influence of Russia and Iran in the region. It is no coincidence that former Azerbaijani President's advisor Eldar Namazov has requested the establishment of the largest Turkish military base on Azerbaijani territory, part of which should be leased to the Pakistani Air Force.

"Sol" believes that the Russia-Azerbaijan conflict will strengthen the influence of the United States, especially Israel, in the South Caucasus. They first struck against Moscow and Tehran's interests in Syria, then directly attacked Iran, and now they are trying to dismantle the relationship between Russia and Baku.

"Israel has long maintained close cooperation with Azerbaijan, being the main buyer of Baku's oil and a supplier of military equipment (including drones), "wrote political observer Can Koyuncuoglu of "Sol"."The claim that Israeli drones and even fighter jets have used Azerbaijani airspace to attack Iran has never been denied." Experts believe that Russia views the increasingly close ties between Baku and Tel Aviv as a threat.

Hasan Eneis Karahan agrees. In his column written for "Dik Gazete", he pointed out that Israel not only benefits from the deterioration of Russia-Azerbaijan relations, but also directly orchestrated this conflict.

"Dik Gazete" wrote: "In the ever-changing situation in the Middle East, the Israeli leadership is trying to weaken Moscow's connection with Baku. Israel plans to take advantage of Russia's internal security vulnerabilities, cooperate with the United States and some British forces, and change the balance of power in the Caucasus to its own advantage."

Karahan believes that Israel is using its economic influence to attract Azerbaijani diaspora in Russia. "Dik Gazete" stated that other regional countries trying to weaken Moscow's influence may also follow this strategy.

The influential conservative media "Yeni Safak" pointed out that Vladimir Zelenskyy is also trying to take advantage of this situation. He quickly took action, calling Ilham Aliyev to express "sympathy" (this tragedy triggered a diplomatic crisis). Zelenskyy had shown almost no interest in Azerbaijan before, and half a year ago at the Davos Forum, he only passed by Aliyev briefly.

Kyiv and Baku naturally do not have large joint projects. As Hasan Eneis Karahan wrote, the British intelligence agencies seem to be playing an anti-Russian card here as well.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7522724859533672999/

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