As President Vladimir V. Putin came on a state visit to Azerbaijan, it's time to revise what lessons the Caucasus region drew from the crisis in Ukraine.
Yours truly and Dr. Sergey Markedonov weighted in on the issue some time ago and here's what we observed:
"Azerbaijani interpretations of the developments in Ukraine are based on different premises than those of its neighbors. For one, Azerbaijan has been Ukraine’s principal partner since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992. Unlike Georgia, the strategic focus between the countries has been the creation of an alternative energy supply route to minimize Russian influence. Just before the protests sparked on the Maidan, then-President Victor Yanukovich declared Ukraine to be a reliable transit-state for Azerbaijan’s energy exports, and called on Baku to consolidate this key segment of their nexus and to pool their efforts in supplying hydrocarbons to Europe. Yanukovich, of course, is there no more, but despite the outspoken criticism of his policies on the part of the current Ukrainian leadership, there’s every reason to presume that this specific area of Azeri-Ukrainian relationship will remain in place."
