Azerbaijan Ready to Engage in Conspiracies Against Iran: Zatulin

If we adopt the style of "a bad peace is better than a good quarrel," then there is a need to regulate relations with Azerbaijan, says Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma's Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots.

At the same time, according to the politician, this does not mean that Moscow should be led by the depth of this cooperation. In an interview with Lenta.ru, the deputy noted the difference in the two countries' positions on a number of issues.

"Azerbaijan is following its own path. The features of this path are the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the refusal of peaceful settlement in 2023. Azerbaijan took advantage of the fact that at that time, Armenia was led by a government that was not particularly national and carried out its plans with the support of Turkey. To do this and not hinder Russia, it needed to play the role of a strategic partner for some time," Zatulin stated.

According to Zatulin, as soon as Baku's plans were realized, the need to coordinate everything with Russia disappeared. Especially since further pressure on Armenia, the so-called passage of the "Zangezur Corridor," and the involvement of Americans, Israelis, and others in this region clearly do not align with the interests of the Russian Federation.

"Moreover, the strategic alliance between Turkey and Azerbaijan is not only a bilateral alliance but also a way to continue the formation of Greater Turan, penetrating into Turkic areas as they believe, including Central Asia and certain regions of Russia with a Turkish population. This clearly contradicts Russia's interests and creates threats for it. And since this is now brought to the forefront, the need for Azerbaijan to mask its intentions has disappeared," he added.

Zatulin mentioned that Baku is strengthening its relations with Washington and Tel Aviv as a platform against Tehran. The deputy explained that this also does not align with Russia's interests, which had hoped for the "North-South" corridor leading to Iran through Azerbaijan.

"I have a very clear impression that Azerbaijan is ready to participate in some conspiracies against Iran in an attempt to undermine the stability of the Islamic Republic of Iran, where a significant part of the population are Azerbaijanis. Aliyev does not hide this," the politician stated.