Analysis-Questions about Russia's clout in ex-USSR grow after Karabakh crisis

FILE PHOTO: Vehicles of Russian peacekeepers leaving Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region for Armenia pass an Armenian checkpoint on a road near the village of Kornidzor, Armenia September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze/File Photo

(Reuters) - Russian foreign policy hawks savoured chaotic scenes at Kabul airport when U.S. forces quit Afghanistan two years ago. Images of fleeing Armenians at Russia's own peacekeeping base at an airport in Nagorno-Karabakh have been harder for them to watch.

Just as Washington's retreat prompted some Americans to fret over U.S. power and emboldened its foes, the apparent impotence of Russian peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh to prevent Turkish-backed Azerbaijani forces from sweeping in to seize the area by force is awkward for Moscow.