Lavrov hints to the West that Russia will not leave Transcaucasia

Director General of the Russian Institute of Regional Problems Dmitry Zhuravlev commented to Alpha News on the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the EU does not hide its intentions to drive Russia out of the South Caucasus.

According to the expert, Lavrov’s wording is a message for Europe.

“Lavrov’s wording is a message for France and Europe as a whole, because it was French activity in Armenia that required such a response. Today, Pashinyan is focused on Paris much more than any other capital. Lavrov hints that the West should not hope that we will leave Transcaucasia despite these special relations, which boil down to the fact that the West may give money, but it will not defend Armenia.

At some point, Armenia will still return to our area of influence. As it has always been, when the sword of destruction arose over the Armenian and Georgian people, it was always the Russians who came to defend them rather than the French or the English. Russia does not need to regain its role as a mediator in Transcaucasia; objectively, it is still a mediator. Another thing is that we tried to be consensual and involved all the forces that were ready to participate in the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. We did this in hopes of more sustainable and efficient solutions. And the West understood this as Russia’s weakness and an opportunity to bring the Transcaucasian republics under its control,” the expert concluded.