The Azerbaijani government is “weighing” Russia’s reactions by channeling government sources into a new narrative presented through the pro-government website Caliber.az , “proposing” the establishment of a NATO military base on Azerbaijani territory.
More specifically, the article in question states:
“Our country has the right to consider radical deterrence measures, including the development of a NATO base, for example, in the Khachmaz region, close to the Russian border. Such a step, based on long-standing cooperation through the Individual Nuclear Action Plan (IPAP), would be another measure for the defense of our country.”
And the article is accompanied by the following collage:
The same article then goes on to say that even closer cooperation with Turkey is necessary, and that many will generally help Azerbaijan, based on its importance in the energy sector. More specifically:
“The Russian social media campaign is a symptom of declining influence, where intimidation replaces diplomacy. Confident of its rightness and capabilities, Azerbaijan is a bastion of pragmatism.”
So it turns out that the issue is, once again, “Russian social media” and “Russia’s declining influence.”
And, apparently, precisely because Russia’s influence is “declining,” the website suggests that Azerbaijan “hide” under the “wing” of NATO.
They provoke but also fear
Interestingly, the same publication publishes another article in which journalists worry about whether problems have arisen in the transportation of goods between Azerbaijan and Russia.
The article quotes the Secretary General of the Association of International Road Transport Operators of Azerbaijan, Kenan Gurbanov: “There is no reason to talk about serious problems in this area.”
That is, the same outlet proposes to “scare” Russia by creating a NATO base near the border, but then asks whether everything is fine with the possibility of importing tomatoes, apples and other agricultural products to Russia — products that, in fact, are of no interest to anyone in the region except Russia.
This is symptomatic of a state in which up to a third of the ethnic population lives in the Russian Federation and which has suddenly decided that it can only speak to Russia in the language of threats.
