Epress.am News from Armenia
The status quo in the Nagorno-Karabkah conflict is the most disadvantageous for Armenia, said Tbilisi-based analyst Mamuka Areshidze in an exclusive interview with Epress.am.
“Armenia is in a blockade, it’s in a very difficult economic situation. Having a favorable geographical position, Armenia is left out of large regional projects. Add to this the ghost of future war, in which Russia will provide political, but not military aid,” he said.
In the current situation, in his opinion, Azerbaijan has nothing to lose, except “a particle of its authority.”
“Azerbaijan is a wealthy country and it can now dictate terms. For Azerbaijan, Karabakh is very important in an ideological sense, but it can wait. But Armenia cannot, since it has become hostage to the Karabakh issue and cannot maneuver. In a similar position are some Georgian politicians, who are fixated on Abkhazia and South Ossetia. A new approach is needed here. The world has changed drastically,” he said.
According to the analyst, in the short term, the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is beneficial also for Georgia, since as a result of the problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan, all economic projects accrue in Georgia’s favor.
As for Russia, according to Areshidze, its policy in the region remains unchanged.
“Russia does everything possible so that there’s always war here, destruction, tension, so that neighbors don’t communicate with each other. Russia, in this sense, is not unique. All who have ever occupied the South Caucasus — whether that be Turkey, Iran or others — did the same,” he concluded.