Armenia remains a priority for Russian policy – Andrey Kortunov 

Speaking with Alpha News, RIAC Academic Director Andrey Kortunov commented on Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin’s statement that Moscow has never abandoned its role as an “honest broker” in the talks between Baku and Yerevan.

“Armenia remains a serious priority for Russian policy. We know that our countries have long historical contacts, and there is a large and active Armenian Diaspora in Russia. All this, of course, should be taken into account by politicians in Moscow. I think no one would want to just write off Armenia,” Kortunov said.

According to the expert, Russia could play a role in the process of demarcation and delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

“Russia’s mediation in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan is possible if both sides in the conflict show a desire to find such a mediator and are ready to hand over certain powers, give them some rights, and accept this mediation. Now, it seems to me, we are not seeing this. Probably, in technical terms, Russia could play some role in the process of demarcation and delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. In any case, this is an issue that should be resolved mainly in a bilateral format, that is, between Yerevan and Baku,” Kortunov said.

“In addition, Russia proposes a formula for multilateral dialogue for the South Caucasus region, the so-called 3+3 formula, involving the participation of three states in the region, as well as neighboring non-regional powers Russia, Turkey, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, as far as I understand, the current authorities of Armenia prefer to rely on partners from more remote regions, in particular, the European Union and the United States. Of course, there are different views on who could play a major role in solving problems related to both security and development of the region.

Nevertheless, I would like to hope that these differences will not interfere with the intensive Russian-Armenian dialogue,” Kortunov concluded.