West wants to drive Russia out of South Caucasus region — Stevan Gajic

Speaking with Alpha News, Stevan Gajic, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies, commented on Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin’s statement that Moscow is against any hasty documents being concluded between Yerevan and Baku.

“The West’s interest is precisely in strengthening its position in the South Caucasus. Turkey is a NATO country and Azerbaijan’s ally, and France will pretend that it is Armenia’s ally, and this is the whole game. Armenia has already lost a lot and may lose more. This is all against Russia and Iran, that is, against the forces that influence the South Caucasus region. This is precisely what explains the haste. They are trying to show that the mediator is the West, not Russia, and that at the political level, Russia has been driven out of the region.This is important for them because the war is waged not only by military means but also by diplomatic means. And every thing, including the place where the agreement is signed and under what conditions, is also part of the diplomatic war,” Gajic said.

If Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s ambitions expand, the West will not care about it, the expert noted.

“They want Russia to completely lose its influence in the South Caucasus, and for this they need Armenia; that is, they need the consent of the Armenians to participate in this, and then Armenia’s future will no longer be of interest to them. If the ambitions of Turkey and Azerbaijan continue to expand, the West will not care at all. What matters for them is to drive Russia out and spoil relations between Russia and Armenia, between Russians and Armenians, so that later it will be difficult to restore strategic partnership on more favorable terms for both Russia and Armenia.The West needs the signing of an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve its issues with Russia, to harm the interests of Russia, and in the long term, of course, Armenia and the Armenians,” Gajic concluded.