Denis Denisov: Events in the South Caucasus showed that the CSTO cannot always act as an effective tool for resolving conflicts

Russian political scientist Denis Denisov commented to Alpha News on Russia’s position regarding integration in the post-Soviet space and expressed his opinion on the future of the CSTO and the EAEU.

According to the expert, there are no prerequisites to say that the Eurasian Economic Union and the CSTO will stop their integration activities and cease to function. He believes that Russia will not pause.

“Within the EAEU, there is a prioritization of the economic component, and those agreements that were signed within this organization by member countries continue to work, and this process will not stop. According to those agreements, all participants in this project find their interest, and there is no need to say that this project will cease to exist or lose its intensity. Now we do not see any tendencies among some of the members to radically reconsider their approaches and positions on the Eurasian economic community. Everything will be quite linear and predictable,” Denisov noted.

Referring to Armenia’s position on membership in the EAEU, the political scientist said, “If political feasibility outweighs economic advantages, then Armenia can limit its participation in the EAEU, but first of all, Armenia itself will suffer from this. Therefore, this is an unlikely scenario.”

According to the expert, the events in the South Caucasus demonstrated that the CSTO needs to change its priorities and become a more efficient organization.

“We know that this is predominantly a military-political entity, and the events in the South Caucasus have demonstrated that this organization must be updated and, perhaps, must change some priorities and approaches to perform more efficiently. We remember the situation in Kazakhstan and the crucial role that the CSTO played then, but events in the South Caucasus demonstrated that the CSTO cannot always act as an effective tool for resolving and preventing conflicts. It looks quite realistic to make certain adjustments to the activities of the organization and perhaps to reconsider the membership of some states. At the official level, Armenia has repeatedly stated its dissatisfaction with the position of the CSTO. And Armenia’s criticism here is quite understandable; it is necessary to find a compromise in this situation. The withdrawal of certain countries is unlikely, but serious restrictions on activities in the organization are possible,” Denisov concluded.