Russia: Trying To Maintain a Balance in the Caucasus

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev met Nov. 24, the same day that leaders of the Armenian and Turkish parliaments met in Moscow. Two days earlier, Aliyev met with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian to discuss the ongoing dispute between their countries over Nagorno-Karabakh. Before his meeting with Sarkisian, Aliyev said that his country was prepared to use military force against Armenia if negotiations failed to produce results. Aliyev's threat shows how frustrated Baku is growing with the negotiation process. It could also endanger the delicate balance Russia has been trying to strike in the Caucasus.