INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia in a series of United Nations General Assembly votes to condemn the war
police car at an outpost in the city of Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh.Alexander Ryumin / TASSKey to Russian influence in the South Caucasus
is its role in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but inhabited predominantly by
that Russia was withdrawing at least part of its contingent for service in Ukraine contributed to an escalation of hostilities in
Nagorno-Karabakh, where ceasefire violations are a common occurrence.Azerbaijani troops occupied the village of Farrukh in Nagorno-Karabakh
a striking turnaround in relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, barely a month after President Ilham Aliyev visited Moscow on the eve of
the war in Ukraine.Talks between Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.kremlin.ruLoyalist media in authoritarian Azerbaijan
have mostly trodden a careful line on the war, expressing oblique support for Ukraine.For its part, Ukraine has traditionally been aligned
with Azerbaijan, selling Baku arms, whereas Armenia is dependent on Russia for its security.The flare-up in Nagorno-Karabakh suggests
also has ramifications for Georgia, the Caucasian state that has historically had the most antagonistic relations with Russia.In recent
years, Tbilisi has gone to some lengths to avoid giving offense to Moscow, denying entry to some high-profile Russian opposition
posted by South Ossetian president Anatoly Bibilov, has shown local troops apparently fighting inside Ukraine
Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that about 2,000 Russian and South Ossetian troops were redeployed.Both Abkhazia and South Ossetia have
also extended political support, formally recognizing the pro-Kremlin breakaway republics in eastern Ukraine and holding rallies in support
Putin.kremlin.ruThough both Abkhazia and South Ossetia are widely seen as appendages of Russia, a recent announcement by Moscow that it is
military failures in Ukraine could spur it to take a more active role
