Russia might have been much better off if it wasn't trying to prove itself that it is a successor to the Soviet Union. After a hard diplomatic battle with Georgia about the future of the its military bases there, Russia has landed in another controversy. The troops and equipment from Georgia are supposed to be redeployed to Armenia, a Russian ally in the region. This move, however, offended Armenia's greatest foe - Azerbaijan.

According to one report Azerbaijan let Russia know that it could reconsider the lease agreement about the early-warning radar in Gabala. It is quite likely that Russia will find some kind of solution and the radar will continue to operate, but it makes one wonder whether those bases cost all that trouble in the first place.