It has been put to me that Azerbaijan, which is now in a dangerous standoff with Russian-backed Armenia, is more closely allied to Turkey than it is to Iran.
That is true. But while, like the Uighurs, the Azeris are Turkic, they are also mostly Shia, and there are more of them in Iran than there in Azerbaijan.
Moreover, while Azerbaijan is a fairly secular country, you could have said that about Iran before the Revolution. Turkey, too, is re-Islamising rapidly and markedly.
Moreover, while Azerbaijan is a fairly secular country, you could have said that about Iran before the Revolution. Turkey, too, is re-Islamising rapidly and markedly.
It is correct, of course, that the Turkish connection is also extremely dangerous, since Turkey is a member of NATO.
All in all, when it comes to machinations involving Russia, then pay attention to this. Not to nonsense about the Scottish and EU referendums.
It is wotyh knowing that Azerbaijan and Israel are also extremely chummy. Much of the glitzy infrasturcture in Azerbaijan is Israeli financed. Recall that Iran has always been a friend to Armenians and they are proud of this. The usual suspects are at play here, and the playbook is quite transparent. The only recent time Iran backed Turkey was during the Gulenist coup against Erdogan, but that was only because Gulen is a US stooge. Iran and Turkey are certainly more commonly found on opposite sides, as currently in Syria.
ReplyDeleteThere are more Azeris in Iran than there are in Azerbaijan, but there is also Armenian representation in Parliament. This one has all the makings. All the makings.
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