Russia is not leaving, it is acting according to situation – Oleg Makarenko on Moscow’s policy in South Caucasus

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist and orientalist Oleg Makarenko commented on Russian-Armenian relations, Armenia’s willingness to go West, and how Iranian-Russian interaction will affect Armenia in the event of a potential conflict in the South Caucasus region.

“Russian-Armenian relations are developing quite complexly. Because today Armenia has chosen the Western or European path of development, as Ukraine once chose. And in connection with this choice, relations with the Armenian people are developing complexly or not always with full mutual understanding between the two sides, so they can be characterized as complex. But, basically, if you look at the prospects for relations, I think they are very good.

I believe understanding between the leadership of Russia and Armenia will be found, especially in the current dynamically changing situation. They are complex, but predictable,” the expert said.

Commenting on the worsening relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, Oleg Makarenko emphasized that this comes from the Azerbaijani leadership’s desire to gain political points.

“I believe this is a situational misunderstanding between the leaders, connected first of all with the plane that crashed in Kazakhstan. And the attitude of the Azerbaijani side, I mean Ilham Aliyev, is that he wants to please his people, who do not quite understand the problem that Russia is facing in the special military operation and the strikes on its territory by the Ukrainian armed forces. That is, this is a situational misunderstanding, and everything that is connected with the ‘Russian House’ or with ‘Sputnik’, I think, is easily corrected,” he emphasized.

Makarenko stated that Armenia is free to make the decisions it considers necessary, but the EU integration path may turn out to be the wrong one.

“Russia is not leaving, it is acting according to the situation, and moreover, there is such a concept as democracy. Democracy is the choice of people. If people choose the path they want to develop in, and this path is Western, why should Russia tell someone how to build their future? Therefore, Russia looks at this only from the point of view that Armenia itself wants to go to the West and is considering the Western path of development. So be it. People must be given the opportunity to either make mistakes or make the right decisions. This is the position that Russia is currently taking,” he said.

The expert emphasized the importance of Russian-Iranian relations for Armenia in terms of security and the inviolability of its borders.

“For Armenia, it is very important, the most important thing is, first of all, what will happen with Iran. That is, such an ally as Iran on the southern borders of Armenia is a very important component. And Russia and Iran’s relations with Russia should not be ignored by Armenia in any case. I believe that Russian-Iranian relations are positive for Armenia, because they seriously affect, among other things, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

I mean, specifically the ‘Zangezur corridor’, since they do not allow the capture or use of armed forces in the ‘Zangezur corridor’. These relations between Russia and Iran will definitely affect Armenia. Therefore, Armenia will need to take into account Russia’s foreign policy as well,” the orientalist concluded.