Turkey and Greater Azerbaijan: A Card to Play?

Beyond a growing commercial relationship, Turkey was trying simultaneously to promote broad-based cultural cooperation that draws Turkic peoples in Azerbaijan and other South Caucasus nations closer. The conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh represented a singular challenge for Turkish policy toward the South Caucasus. In Baku, particularly, voices demanding a military solution were growing louder. But would Azerbaijan receive support from the millions of ethnic Azeris living in Iran? The 'Azeri factor' was certain to remain an influence on Turkey’s relations with Iran, but this did not mean that Turkey had an 'Azerbaijan card' to play to enhance its political leverage.