Azerbaijan is rushing to establish a connection with Nakhichevan through corridor logic not only because the Armenian government has created an opportunity for them to speak with preconditions and dictate an agenda, but also because a silent and sometimes visible struggle is underway between Turkey and Iran for influence and, why not, control over Nakhichevan, wrote NA deputy Tigran Abrahamyan.
According to him, over the past 10-15 years, Turkey has been implementing deep integration programs in Nakhichevan, from culture to the armed forces.
“At one point, Azerbaijan was so close to losing control that a few years ago it made radical changes in the Nakhichevan governance system, dismissed almost all influential figures from their posts and appointed highly trusted figures from Baku.
In general, after the death of Heydar Aliyev, the Nakhichevan clan, no matter how strange it may seem at first glance, is not only being pushed out of the elite, but many of them are also being persecuted.
With the targeted policy of Ilham Aliyev, and perhaps in some cases independently of his will, within the country, the Azerbaijani elite has undergone severe changes in the last decade, in which Aliyev’s wife (his family) and the Turkish government play a major role.
Especially after the 44-day war, in the conditions of Aliyev’s deep resistance, Turkish influence in Azerbaijani processes has grown considerably, which "Manifestations, including in the form of discontent, are also expressed in the public sphere with some periodicity," the MP wrote.
