Matthew Petti  🎅 🎄 ☃️

Jewish Institute for National Security of America experts Makovsky and Cornell note that Russia and Iran are backing Armenia, and Azerbaijan is using Israeli weapons very effectively

Cornell: the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict shows the "endurance of national interests" The only countries "unequivocally backing" Azerbaijan today are Israel, Turkey, and Pakistan.

Cornell: Iran and Russia have been taking Armenia's side "to stop Turkish and Western influence in the region"

Cornell: Iran and Russia now see a value in "maintaining something of a cordial relation with Azerbaijan"

Cornell: "the United States has an enduring interest in the heart of Eurasia," which is important because it is surrounded by nuclear powers (Russia, China, India, Paksitan) "That's what it really boils down to": the Caucasus provides access to Central Asia

Cornell: "the only country that borders both Iran and Russia is Azerbaijan" Azerbaijan, like Bahrain, shows "just because you are a Shi'a majority country does not mean that you have to be like Iran"

Amb. Suleymanov: "if we want to see peace...the United States should stay an impartial and balanced negotiator" Giving into the emotions of some Armenian-American constituents would hurt America's trust with both sides, he says

Amb. Suleymanov: Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, does not have precision weapons so it has to fire on cities with unguided munitions Similar to "what is being used against Israel as well"

Amb. Suleymanov: Armenia is "not really an independent country" but a vestige of the Soviet Union backed by Russian troops "Armenia cannot be an independent Soviet state so long as this occupation continues"

Amb. Suleymanov: Azerbaijan is a "very diverse country," has the "largest Jewish community in the Middle East," has no hostility towards the Armenians living in Karabakh

Amb. Suleymanov: all the reports that Azerbaijan is using Syrian mercenaries originates from "pro-Assad" sources Says it's similar to anti-Israel propaganda "I lived in the Soviet Union. This is what the Soviets do."

Amb. Suleymanov says that we may soon see "reports" that there are "Shi'a radicals" fighting against Azerbaijan for Armenia

Amb. Suleymanov: Azerbaijan does not strike civilian targets in Karabakh "It's our territories. We want people to live there." Says that criticism of arms sales to Azerbaijan is unfounded: "The whole point of precision weapons is to minimize collateral damage"

Amb. Suleymanov: "Azerbaijan is not so different from Israel or the United States," that is why it needs precision weapons

Amb. Suleymanov: the "Armenians are always trying to bring in religious aspects" in a "racist" way against Muslim Azeris "Azerbaijan is actually aligned with Christian countries. Armenia is acting in a different way."

Cornell: Turkey was hoping to have a close relation with Russia b/c of mutual enmity with Syrian Kurds But "Turkey has come to realize that Russia is not really a friend or ally to the Turks"

Cornell: "I would not be surprised if Russia was somewhat surprised by the level of Turkish commitment to Azerbaijan in this conflict"

Cornell: the Minsk Group has been "an enormous failure of Western diplomacy" Russian-Turkish agreement might be necessary to resolve the conflict

Cornell: "this conflict is beginning to resemble the Indian-Pakistan conflict or the Arab-Israeli conflict" That is to say, frozen conflict that explodes every so often

Cornell: the U.S. can act as an "honest broker" because it is "geostrategically close to Azerbaijan" but also has a large Armenian-American diaspora with support in Congress

Cornell: "it makes absolutely no sense for Azerbaijan. which has a large functioning military to bring in a few hundred Syrian fighters" especially as Syrian "jihadis" are Sunni and Azerbaijan is Shi'a

Cornell: hard to believe that Turkey activated S-400, why would Russia send personnel at this time?

Amb. Suleymanov: "there were significant deliveries of Russian military cargo to Armenia over the territory of Iran" over the summer, Azerbaijan wants an explanation

Amb. Suleymanov: Iranian Azeris have been "protesting quite strongly" against Russian/Iranian support to Azerbaijan, because the so-called Islamic Republic is "helping to kill fellow Shi'as in Azerbaijan"

Amb. Suleymanov says that Armenians are leaving Internet comments under "fake Jewish names" to create the impression that "Jewish people are upset with Azerbaijan"

Jewish Institute for National Security of America president Michael Makovsky: "whatever it's worth, at JINSA, we believe that America has stronger strategic ties with Azerbaijan" "We wish you and your country good fortune going forward" Speech over.