The South Caucasus is of critical importance to the US in countering Russia: Anna Velikaya

Anna Velikaya, Senior Research Fellow at IMEMO RAS, commented to Alpha News on US interests and objectives in the South Caucasus region, on the sidelines of the XII International Academic and Expert Forum “Primakov Readings.”

“The South Caucasus is extremely important to the US, as it concentrates geostrategic, geopolitical, and geoeconomic interests alike. It is very important for Washington to connect this region both with the Greater Middle East and with South Asia. In other words, they want to advance their sphere of influence here in order to essentially block Russian presence in the region. The South Caucasus is critically important to the Americans precisely for countering Russian efforts in the region, as well as Iranian and, of course, Chinese interests,” the political scientist noted.

According to the expert, Washington seeks to block Russian interests across the countries of the region.

“American interests over the past century have essentially always been aimed at countering our country. This was the case during the Cold War as well. Naturally, on Ukraine, the Americans will support the European position and will do everything to counter Russian efforts both on the Ukrainian front and in our immediate regional neighborhood. What they are doing now in Moldova and the Central Asian countries is aimed at blocking Russian interests in those regions. But we, of course, must take a proactive stance ourselves,” Velikaya said.