Putin visits Azerbaijan, Europe worried
Last Updated on August 20, 2024 10:09 am
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Azerbaijan, a former Soviet Union country. This is Putin’s first visit to the natural resource-rich Eurasian country in six years. Meanwhile, the European Union has become very worried about Putin’s two-day state visit. In particular, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lost sleep.
The distance between Azerbaijan and Ukraine is hundreds of kilometers. But Kiev is most worried about Putin’s visit to Azerbaijan. Because Putin’s visit has created a mystery about the type of agreement between the two countries.
Moscow says that economic, political and humanitarian cooperation with Baku will be increased. Besides, Moscow said that the positions of the two countries will be discussed on various international issues.
Interestingly, the fear of Putin’s visit has surrounded the political leaders of Azerbaijan. They believe the peace that has temporarily returned between Azerbaijan and Armenia could die on the ground because of Putin’s visit. Armenia was also part of the former Soviet Union. Russia has very deep ties with this country.
Elkhan Shahinoglu, head of the Atlas Research Center, said Putin needs new troops to recapture the Kursk region captured by Ukrainian forces. For this reason, the military base in Armenia’s Gumri may be closed and those troops may be deployed on the Ukrainian front.
The reason for this, he said, is that it is now very important for Putin to maintain Russia’s territorial integrity and restore his own honor. And for this, the Kremlin needs the cooperation of Azerbaijan.
Since 2022, Azerbaijan has been exporting fuel oil to various European countries. Baku recently started exporting natural gas to Slovenia. After Russia lost its market in Europe due to the ongoing war with Ukraine, Azerbaijan is slowly taking over that place.
Even before the expiration of Europe’s energy agreement with Russia in 2024, Ukraine and the European Union have approached Baku for natural gas.
Europe wants to export natural gas from Azerbaijan through Ukraine. But if Azerbaijan joins Putin’s new plan, Ukraine will suffer the most. And so, Kiev and its Western allies are worried about this.
However, both Ukraine and Russia are confident of Azerbaijan’s leadership. However, analysts believe that there is no possibility of talks between Moscow and Kiev in the current situation.
Source: AFP, South China Morning Post