The Russians are waging an anti-Aliyev campaign. Now [Russian philosopher] Aleksandr Dugin claims that Moscow helped Azerbaijan retake Karabakh. That is absurd, noted Michael Doran, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute in the US.

Moscow's goal was never to hand over Karabakh to Azerbaijan. It was about maintaining a sufficient Armenian foothold to justify the presence of Russian “peacekeepers,” to establish control over the Lachin corridor, and to solidify one’s own role as an indispensable mediator between Baku and Yerevan. It was about controlling leverage and balances, not about Azerbaijan’s victory, Doran added, in particular, on X.