Russia’s Failure to Help Armenia against Azerbaijan and Turkey Costing It Support in Central Asia, Telegram Channel Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 24 – Just as America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan undermined its image as a strong power, so too Russia’s failure to defend Armenia against Azerbaijan which was supported by Turkey is costing Moscow the support it once had in Central Asia, the Russia is Not Europe telegram channel says.

            Central Asians are not impressed by Russian arguments that it had no basis for intervention on behalf of Armenia, the channel continues.  They see that failure as a reflection of Russian fears of Turkey and are distancing themselves from Moscow more rapidly than ever before (tgclick.com/RossiyaNeEvropa/9746 reposted at iarex.ru/news/83423.html).

            As a result, the situation in “domino-like fashion” has become an avalanche against Russia, with anti-Moscow nationalists gaining the upper hand, proponents of shifting from the Cyrillic to the Latin script near complete victory, and Central Asian governments concluding that their future is with Ankara rather than with Moscow.

            Only if Moscow demonstrates that it is ready to use its military power to stand up to Turkey is there any chance that the decline in Russian influence in Central Asia can be reversed or at least slowed, the telegram channel concludes.