Epress.am News from Armenia
Russia’s leadership, in order to maintain good relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, is trying to avoid a situation in which it’ll have to choose between the two countries, said LINKS (London Information Network on Conflicts and State-building) Executive Director Dennis Sammut, commenting on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s official visits to Yerevan and Baku in an interview with 1news.az.
Regarding the statements by European Policy Centre analyst Amanda Paul that the US has provided Russia a carte blanche in the Caucasus, Sammut said, “Talks of ‘carte blanche’ and ‘zones of influence’ are already obsolete. Russia is unable to solve the current problems in the Caucasus independently.”
According to Sammut, a joint security regime must be developed in the region with the participation of regional states and international organizations. “This is the only way to solve regional problems,” he said.
Commenting on the recent incidents along the Nagorno-Karabakh–Azerbaijan border, the analyst said that they have become so regular and frequent that soon it’ll be impossible to talk about a ceasefire.
“The situation on the border line should be immediately stabilized before it becomes even more dangerous,” he said.
“However, neither the conflicting parties nor the international community should confuse ceasefire with peace. The incidents should be seen as a sign of impending danger. It’s shameful that such a situation still exists in Europe in 2010,” concluded the analyst.