Vladimir Skachko: Aliyev was bitten 

 
Speaking with Alpha News, political scientist Vladimir Skachko commented on the words of support of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to the expert, “Aliyev is trying to sit on several chairs, risking tearing both his trousers and his seat.”

“Aliyev’s words show that he was bitten by supporters of the so-called multi-vector approach, which assumes that a politician cannot decide on the main vector of his development, his partnership, and his alliance, and so he tries to sit on two, three, and four chairs, risking tearing both his trousers and his seat. Many got burned by this. However, many small countries try to be obedient. The same goes for Aliyev. On the one hand, he is friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin; on the other hand, he is focused on the United States; and on the third hand, he is focused on Turkey, hoping that somewhere he will be able to pursue an independent policy.

First of all, it, of course, concerns the fact that the West will forgive him for the destruction of Nagorno-Karabakh and the absorption of this enclave. He needs to make sure that everyone—Russia, Washington, and Brussels—says that Nagorno-Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan. In addition, Azerbaijan has a huge number of its own trade and logistics projects in which it needs to occupy its place. At the same time, it cannot quarrel with Russia because the North-South international transport corridor connects Russia and the countries of the Middle East. It is in such situations that he makes the most of the slogan that politics is the art of the possible,” Skachko said.

According to the expert, Russia will not publicly punish Aliyev for his statements.

“Everyone understands perfectly well that sometimes there is a very large gap between political rhetoric and political practice. And this is really politics. Politics sometimes forces people to say one thing, think another, and do something completely different. The leaders of countries usually choose what is beneficial to them. For Russia, an alliance with Azerbaijan is beneficial because a break with such an ally undermines Russia’s position both in the Caucasus, in relations with Turkey, and in relations with NATO, which also wants and views Azerbaijan as its own tidbit. Unfortunately, Armenia’s unclear position in this battle only makes matters worse,” Skachko concluded.