Russia is all set to teach Turkey a lesson of a lifetime since it has jumped directly into the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia from the side of Azerbaijan. And with the souring relations with its fellow NATO allies, no one will be coming to its rescue leaving Ankara to fend for itself and learn to act responsibly the hard way.
The NATO treaty allies are bound to help its fellow members if they are attacked, as it goes, an attack on any of the NATO member country, it is understood to be an attack on all the member countries and thus all NATO countries become treaty-bound to help the country in question. However, here Turkey is an aggressor and the warzone is not inside the Turkish boundaries.
In addition to not being bound by any treaty or agreement to help Ankara, the NATO allies are not even inclined to help & rescue from the nightmare that Putin is most-likely to welcome Erdogan with. The allies have been miffed with Erdogan recently, as a result of Turkey’s move away from the Secular Democracy & towards Theocracy, showcased by the conversion of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a Mosque.
European Union and the USA are also angry with Turkey over its conflict with Greece and have already shown Turkey their ire earlier this month, with the earlier reports of TFI mentioning the conflict, “The US and France have therefore managed to curb what could have emerged as a major military conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean. Macron and Trump have tilted the balance of power against Turkey, and therefore the distortionary power has been put in its place to ensure that the status quo is maintained in the Eastern Mediterranean waters. Turkey, which is not a signatory to the UNCLOS, was violently claiming sovereignty over the waters of both Greece and Cyprus, but it is now retreating in shame as the US and France push it back relentlessly.”
Read: Erdoğan retreats in shame after France, EU and the USA come together to back Greece up
Armenian Prime Minister as recent as yesterday tweeted, “Azerbaijan, with active encouragement, political and military support of #Turkey, is expanding the geography of hostilities to the territory of Armenia. #Armenia and #Artsakh will give an adequate military-political response to Azerbaijan’s attempts to undermine regional #security & #peace”. By directly involving itself in this conflict, it has made all the more pertinent for Putin to more decisively help its fellow orthodox Christian country and a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Armenia is strategically too really important for Moscow as it provides a foothold in the Caucus region and a land route connecting Russia with Middle East & Iran. Putin also wants to keep the Turk’s out of the Central Asian Region for which Armenia is the line of defence. TFI had reported that “Russia also has two military bases in Armenia. Moscow sells weapons to Armenia and guards its borders with Turkey. Being an orthodox Christian country, Armenia also looks upon Russia as a protector that will save it from a genocidal Turkey.”
The Russian leader has been very calmly putting pieces into place and waiting it out. It has created a situation where the actions of Erdogan and his irresponsible attitude is in full display for the whole world to see, the NATO allies have also become irritated and distanced from Ankara. Now the situation is ripe for Russia to engage with Turkey and show what happens when one country tries to punch beyond its capacity and even the NATO members will remain spectators for the entire event.