Pashinyan lays blame on others, political scientist says

Russian political scientist Alexey Anpilogov commented to Alpha News on the statements of the Armenian Prime Minister in his latest interview regarding Russia’s guilt in the surrender of Artsakh to Azerbaijan.

“Pashinyan is trying, as the saying goes, to lay the blame at someone’s door. Russia is a state close to Armenia, but we need to understand, first of all, that the Karabakh situation and the Artsakh issue is the issue of Armenia itself and the attitude towards the independence of Artsakh, towards what the Spaniards called the ‘Reconquista’, what Garibaldi promoted in Italy when various states unite because they have the same people, the same faith, and the same culture.

We can say that Armenia, unfortunately, failed to deal with its ‘Reconquista’. It had a historical chance, and the formula ‘Peace in exchange for territory’ was proposed to the Armenian side, but this issue was kicked into the long grass. Azerbaijan did not waste time; it was gathering strength,” Anpilogov said.

The expert believes that Russia’s priorities have now shifted towards Ukraine because the existence of Russia itself is at stake and other foreign policy directions are secondary at the moment.

“Could Russia have intervened in the Karabakh conflict? No, it couldn’t. Russia is now leading its own ‘Reconquista’, its own ‘Risorgimento’, led by Garibaldi in the name of Italy. We now have our own war, which, unfortunately, consumes a lot of resources. It is an existential war for Russia.

And if Russia were to lose in Ukraine now, it would be a national disgrace and a catastrophe, no less than what Armenia and its true patriots are now experiencing. And trying to find an external force that is responsible for your own mistakes and defeats is a sign of a narrow-minded mind because Armenia is unlikely to have better friends than Russia,” Anpilogov concluded.