As Russia and Europe cope with the aftermath of a series of terrorist attacks , Moscow is working to make the best of the instability, especially in its near abroad. To this end, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, led a delegation to Azerbaijan on April 10 to meet with State Security Service Chief Lt. Gen. Madat Guliyev and other Azerbaijani security officials. Guliyev discussed state building and law enforcement reforms being carried out in Azerbaijan, while Patrushev discussed deepening security cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has traditionally kept a neutral and diversified position when it comes to security matters. Unlike Armenia (which is a Russian ally with a Russian military base on its territory), Azerbaijan kept Russia at arm's length for years and instead pursued close military and security cooperation with Turkey.