Russia Reveals Its Nagorno-Karabakh Strategy

Russia's efforts to mediate the crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh reveal Moscow's strategy for dealing with the volatile yet strategic Caucasus region — namely, maintaining a dominant position in each country. As Russia's influence over Ukraine continues to be challenged, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict offers Moscow risks and opportunities in managing its own relationships with Baku and Yerevan, with implications for Russia's broader competition with the West in the former Soviet periphery.