Why Erdogan's flexing muscle in Karabakh
The worsening conflict between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces has seen one regional power -- Turkey -- throw its weight against both Russia and its own NATO allies.
And its President Tayyip Erdogan has described it as part of a quest for Turkey's, quote, "deserved place in the world order."
Turkey is backing Azerbaijan in the fighting over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Turkish-made drones now spearhead Azeri attacks and one senior official in Ankara said Turkey was providing infrastructure and support for the weapons, though it has no troops in the field.
Hundreds dead, heavy artillery, tanks, and planes. It's the worst fighting there in decades.
Erdogan sees an opportunity to change the status quo, rather than going along with decades-old mediation efforts by the U.S., France and Russia that he says have failed.
And to bolster support at home by flexing muscle abroad.
Ankara's reliance on gas imports from Azerbaijan adds another incentive.
The enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, but ruled and populated by ethnic Armenians.
Cross-border campaigns such as those waged by Turkey in northern Syria, Iraq and Libya are a priority for Erdogan, another Turkish official said, and boost support for his party.
But Turkey denies accusations by the French and Syrian presidents that it has sent Syrian jihadists it backs to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh.
And Russian allegations it's sending mercenaries.
Although Turkey's stance sends an implicit threat to Armenia and its ally Moscow, Erdogan's also betting that despite their differences, Turkey and Russia get on well enough to prevent a wider conflict in the region.
