Despite the Despot of Baku’s Bluster, Azerbaijan Faces a Number of Challenges: Vardan Voskanyan

Vardan Voskanyan, a member of the 'Homeland' party, stated on his Facebook page: “Despite the bluster and reckless rhetoric of the despot of Baku, Azerbaijan stands before a number of challenges that have immediately followed the end of the euphoria that enveloped this country. It is obvious that the significant growth of the political-military influence of a so-called Ikhwanist (Muslim Brotherhood) Sunni axis, represented by Turkey and Pakistan, has created internal points of tension in Azerbaijan, a country traditionally inhabited by a Shiite population. This is particularly evident in regions that serve as bastions of Shiite Islam, such as Absheron and Talishstan, leading to an increase in divisions between the segments of the population that are pro-Turkish and pro-Iranian.

This is further exacerbated by Iran's quite active external pressure on the despot in Baku, exercised through a policy of 'the rod and the sweet cookie' and a very clear distribution of roles. Russia has also increased pressure on Azerbaijan through a nearly identical policy, which, despite the significant absence of supporting or sympathetic population groups within this country, has substantial leverage in its influence through the peacekeeping forces stationed in Artsakh.

Paradoxically, however, Turkey's nearly unlimited influence and Azerbaijan's certain loss of sovereignty cannot inspire enthusiasm among the political leadership of another supporter of Baku’s despot, Israel, which already finds itself in serious competition with the Erdogan administration to maintain its influence. If we add to this the existing problems in relations with certain EU member states and the United States, then the despot of Baku, metaphorically speaking, often has to act as a puppet that tries to maintain balance on the delicate strings of domestic and international politics, even resorting to erratic movements of the tongue.”