{"id":172965,"date":"2016-01-21T09:28:46","date_gmt":"2016-01-21T09:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/article\/a-game-of-absolutes\/"},"modified":"2016-01-21T09:28:46","modified_gmt":"2016-01-21T09:28:46","slug":"a-game-of-absolutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meydan.tv\/en\/article\/a-game-of-absolutes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Game of Absolutes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n \"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n Ilham Aliyev is in a tough place.\n<\/p>\n

\n Azerbaijan is stuck on the world stage between two major actors who are embroiled in quite the kerfuffle. The Daily Beast has
\n
\n slapped the label
\n <\/a>
\n \u201cCold War\u201d on the tense situation between Russia and Turkey after Nov. 24, when
\n
\n Turkish F-16 fighter jets downed a Russian Su-24 warplane
\n <\/a>
\n after it strayed into Turkish airspace near the border with Syria.\n<\/p>\n

\n Russian President Vladimir Putin showed vitriol toward Ankara after the incident. He
\n
\n said
\n <\/a>
\n in response to the downing at a press conference: \u201cWe shall remind them many a time what they have done and they will more than once feel regret for what they have done.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n That tension worked its way into the business sector with regards to Turkish construction projects in Russia: Starting on Jan. 1, no new contracts can be signed,
\n
\n The New York Times
\n <\/i>
\n reports. From Moscow, the
\n
\n Times\u2019
\n <\/i>
\n Andrew Kramer
\n <\/i>
\n reports that a significant amount of Russian infrastructure is Turkish-made, and that \u201cthe exemption for all current (pre-2016) contracts seemed to reflect that the Russians will only go so far in limiting Turkey\u2019s activities here for fear of being left with no roofs over their heads.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen wrote a definitive biography on Putin. As she told me in a recent email, Putin is setting up Russia to be the leader of the \u201canti-Western\u201d world. The problem for Ankara comes in part from its membership with NATO, which Putin seems to see as an expanding threat.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cRussia does not view itself as expansionist, according to Mr. Putin,\u201d Gessen writes in a recent op-ed for
\n
\n The New York Times
\n <\/i>
\n . \u201cIts ideology is grounded in the idea of a clash of civilizations \u2013 one of \u2018traditional values\u2019 vs. the West \u2013 and Russia merely strives to preserve the former.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n But what does this mean for not-so-black-and-white Baku?\n<\/p>\n

\n In recent memory Azerbaijan has oft-courted the West, from the
\n
\n 2012 Eurovision Song Contest
\n <\/a>
\n to the extravagant and inaugural
\n
\n European Games
\n <\/a>
\n . To see a country once part of the U.S.S.R. sitting at the table with Western leaders doubtless puts Putin on edge. He has to be wondering: Will Baku fall to the temptation of NATO membership, were it ever offered? Former Soviet bloc countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
\n
\n are member states
\n <\/a>
\n , for example.\n<\/p>\n

\n And President Barack Obama has
\n
\n reportedly invited Aliyev
\n <\/a>
\n to the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. \u2013 though in truth this journalist hopes there will be room during the summit meeting for U.S. officials to query Aliyev about the
\n
\n perverse number of human rights violations perpetrated in his country
\n <\/a>
\n .\n<\/p>\n

\n Regardless, if Aliyev keeps playing with ambivalence in Putin\u2019s game of absolutes, don\u2019t be surprised if a Russian jet strays into Azeri airspace in the near future.\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n Jonathan Bach, a journalist and research fellow with the University of Oregon-UNESCO Crossings Institute for Conflict-Sensitive Reporting and Intercultural Dialogue, is an op-ed contributor for Meydan TV.
\n <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Azerbaijan is stuck on the world stage between two major actors who are embroiled in quite the kerfuffle. 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