Author(s)

Shabnam Dadparvar

Corresponding Author

Shabnam Dadparvar

Abstract

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Caucasus region has been so important to Russia that Moscow has defined this region in its foreign policy strategy as a "Near Abroad", and that is why Russia has not been disposed toward the presence of the other actors in the region. The emergence of such crises as the one in Georgia in the Caucasus region, the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis in the South Caucasus, and the conflict of interests among other actors have endangered the stability, development, and cooperation in the region and paved the way for lasting security crises. With the resumption of hostilities between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia and the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2020, threats against Russia's national interests increased in the South Caucasus which is considered as the defensive heart of Moscow. The purpose of this paper is to investigate Russia's approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2020 and see what strategic objectives it has pursued? It is hypothesized that Russia has had a defensive approach to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh crisis and has pursued the development of the geopolitical sphere, the continuation of its presence, the prevention of NATO expansion, and the prevention of Western influence.

Keywords

Russia, foreign policy, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Caucasus, defensive realism