Russia's Comparative Policy In the crisis of Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's foreign policy was based on its geography, and so developments in the newly formed republics were tied to its security and strategic issues. Ukraine and the South Caucasus region are close as Russia's strategic regions abroad, and from the Russian authorities' point of view, any developments in these regions are directly related to the country's interests. Therefore, the beginning of the military conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine's efforts to join the West and NATO have led Russia to focus its strategies on these developments. The main question in this study is how to explain Russia's foreign policy strategies towards Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine? The findings of the study show that Russia, given the threat of Westernization of Armenia and Ukraine, has tried to overcome the two countries' threatening approach against their national interests as a peacekeeping force in the Caucasus and deterrence through military aggression against Ukraine. In this regard, the role of Russia's perceptions and attitudes towards the two crises is also of considerable importance.