Washington seeks to seize initiative in Caucasus, expert says

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist Bogdan Bezpalko commented on the trilateral talks between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington with the participation of the US Secretary of State.

“Washington seeks to seize the initiative in the Caucasus and pass off certain results as the success of its agencies; that is, to say that due to their efforts, a compromise has been reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia and to give valuable instructions to both sides. Most likely, the meeting in Washington is just a symbolic meeting, no concrete decisions are expected now, in my opinion. Maybe it will be a consultative meeting where the positions of the parties will be clarified and the US position will be conveyed to them. It is too early to talk about something else,” Bezpalko said.

According to the political scientist, we may learn about the agreements at the meeting in Washington after it takes place.

“It is possible that after the meeting, after some time, after the Armenian leadership’s steps, we will learn that they discussed the possibility of Armenia joining military or political alliances, unions, or, on the contrary, withdrawal from any alliances in the post-Soviet area, such as the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) and the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union). Perhaps we will learn that these agreements were reached at the summit in Washington only after these steps have already been taken and the Armenian authorities will announce these declarations, documents, or agreements,” Bezpalko noted.

“As for the rejection of the referendum on joining the European Union, it is quite obvious that the EU will not include Armenia in its membership now. Therefore, the leadership of Yerevan may find itself in a difficult situation. If the people say that they want it, it will be necessary to take some steps to implement the results of this referendum. If they say no, it will be difficult to keep a pro-Western course, including cooperation with the European Union,” Bezpalko concluded.