2024-04-27 08:28:24
The fact that Armenia is rapidly moving towards the West, that it thinks that it has found a new “patron and patron” in the example of France, that it relies on continuous support from the United States and the European Union, and that it rapidly arming its army by starting an intensive partnership with NATO cannot help but worry the regional states. Russia cares more.
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s collegium on the South Caucasus held a special meeting and discussed the issues of “protecting and developing Russia’s interests in the region” and it can be considered one of the most sudden events of recent months.
In this meeting, which is one of the rare gatherings in the modern history of Russian diplomacy, in which special attention was paid to the South Caucasus, “the collective West trying to bring Russia to a strategic defeat, after Ukraine, to disrupt the strategic alliance and partnership relations that bind Russia with the countries of the region in other parts of the post-Soviet space, including the South Caucasus, as well as the existing seeks to destroy mechanisms of economic partnership and collective security”.
It was further emphasized at the meeting: “Unlike the West, which acts only with the logic of “zero-sum games”, the priority for Russia is to ensure stability, peace and security in the South Caucasus. Russia will continue to support all the regions of the region, which are connected by a common centuries-old history, geographical proximity and close human contacts. will continue cooperation based on mutual respect and profit with its states”.
It was declared that the complex of tripartite agreements between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia should be fully implemented, a peace agreement should be agreed between Baku and Yerevan, transport communications in the region should be removed from the blockade and put into operation, the conventional state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia should be demarcated and delimited.
In this context, the potential and opportunities of the “3+3” (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia + Russia, Turkey, Iran) regional platform should be used more actively.
The reasons for holding the meeting, which can be considered a unique event in the history of the Russian Foreign Ministry in recent decades, as well as what interests Moscow intends to protect and develop in the South Caucasus are matters of serious interest.
Moscow believes and is even absolutely sure that the “collective West”, that is, the USA, France and the European Union, which has started to use Armenia as a tool, is eager to inflict as heavy a blow as possible on Russia’s interests in the region, and to result in the process of Russia’s absolute expulsion from the South Caucasus region.
After the decisions made at the meeting between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels on April 5, the scenario of Western intervention in the South Caucasus through Armenians was launched.
The West, which is rapidly arming Armenia and promising assistance and support to Armenians in all fields, demands Armenians to minimize relations with Russia in exchange for all this.
Among the demands are Armenia’s departure from the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and then withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Customs Union, which are under Moscow’s total control.
Russia considers all this as a very serious threat to its interests in the South Caucasus and is preparing to disrupt the West’s plans by mobilizing its diplomatic potential to the maximum.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly stated at various levels and places that those plans of the West aggravate the situation in the South Caucasus. S. Lavrov called Armenia’s intention to get rid of its dependence on Russia and pursue a Western-oriented policy “unthought-out decisions” and said that “the scenario of Ukraine can also await Armenia.”
The results of the extraordinary meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia can be characterized very briefly: Moscow will not allow the formation of new “separating and limiting lines” in our region. When we say such lines, we mean the camping of the states in our Russian region in terms of new ideological platforms and geopolitical trends, and the formation of new opportunities for conflict.
Moscow openly declares that Georgia and Armenia’s policy formation based on instructions received from outside, leaning towards the West, does not meet its interests at all. For the aforementioned reason, Moscow will try to minimize the influence of the West, which has been growing in the South Caucasus recently, by using all its capabilities, levers and means.
For example, the phrase “… is trying to destroy the collective security mechanisms” in the latest statement of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs implies that the US-France-EU trio is pushing Armenia to leave the CSTO ranks.
Russia naturally considers CSTO and the Eurasian Economic Union as organizations that “connect it with relations of partnership and alliance” with Armenia. The reality is that the mentioned organizations are aimed at keeping Yerevan in the zone of military, political and economic influence of Moscow.
The premature withdrawal of the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent (RSK) from Azerbaijan, the liberation of 4 of our 8 villages that have been occupied in Armenia for 32 years and their return to Azerbaijan, the decision to start the demarcation and delimitation processes of the conditional state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia – all this seriously worries Moscow. are issues.
If we recall that the agreements reached between Baku and Yerevan were reached as a result of negotiations carried out directly without the participation of Russia, Moscow is bringing up the “3+3” format again in order to restore its positions. recalling the statement, it talks about the importance of fulfilling its set of conditions.
It seems that Russia intends to add to its regional policy in our region and partially change it.
The main goal is not to allow the West to gain strength in the region, to prevent NATO’s plans to gain serious influence over the processes in the region through Armenia.
At the same time, Russia is making “necessary information preparation” ahead of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow, and is issuing strict warnings to Yerevan.
The goal is to make N. Pashinyan take a concrete decision at the meeting and negotiations in Moscow.
The interests of the West are different.
The goal of France is not to allow the strengthening of the Azerbaijan-Turkey tandem, the intention of the United States is to start the transport-logistics relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia as late as possible, and the desire of the European Union is to seize control mechanisms of transport routes in the region by intensifying the regional conflict with Russia.