Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 12
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:
As Russia and Europe cope with the aftermath of a series of terrorist attacks, Moscow is working to make the best of the instability, especially in its near abroad, according to an article by Stratfor, the US publisher and global intelligence company.
To this end, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, led a delegation to Azerbaijan Apr. 10, 2017 to meet with the country’s State Security Service chief, Lieutenant-General Madat Guliyev and other Azerbaijani security officials, according to the article.
Guliyev discussed state building and law enforcement reforms being carried out in Azerbaijan, while Patrushev discussed deepening security cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan, said the article.
“Azerbaijan has traditionally kept a neutral and diversified position when it comes to security matters,” the article said. “Unlike Armenia (which is a Russian ally with a Russian military base on its territory), Azerbaijan kept Russia at arm’s length for years and instead pursued close military and security cooperation with Turkey.”
However, Russian political maneuvering in Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia over the breakaway territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh region has fostered greater security and military cooperation between Moscow and Baku in recent months, according to the article.
“Azerbaijan has increased its weapons purchases from Russia, while in November [2016] the two countries agreed to expand military-technical cooperation and joint training,” said the article.
In this way, political instability has given Russia an opportunity to expand its influence in many of its neighboring countries, especially when it comes to security cooperation, the article said.