Russia Will Resolve Karabakh Issue as It Did with Kars: Analyst

Azerbaijan understands quite well that Armenia's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union is almost equal to the loss of Karabakh, said political analyst, Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) Chair Dr. Stepan Grigoryan, in conversation with local daily 168 Zham. 

"Let me explain why. If you hand over all the functions to Russia, then Russia will resolve the Karabakh issue as it resolved the issue of Kars. Armenians then too gave the entire package to Russia, hoping that the Russians would resolve at least one issue in our favor (I'm speaking about Bolshevist Russia, not Tsarist Russia). And Bolshevik Russia resolved the matter in favor of its interests: it gave Kars to the Turks, and Karabakh and Nakhichevan to Azerbaijan," he said.   

Asked whether recent incidents at the border  — in particular, the deaths of Armenian soldiers at the Nakhchivan border — have anything to do with the aforementioned processes, Grigoryan said: "What is the general idea of Azerbaijan's authorities? To keep Armenia-Azerbaijan borders and the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact constantly tense, so that the world doesn't forget about the Karabakh issue. Today there is a Ukrainian crisis, Syria, and on that backdrop, Karabakh is simply not considered a conflict. Let's not kid ourselves. What kind of conflict is it compared with Ukraine and Syria?"

However, according to the analyst, the attempts on the border with Nakhichevan have a new hue to them, connected to Turkey. "You know, with the 1921 Treaty of Moscow, the guarantors of Nakhchivan's independence or security are Russia and Turkey. And if tension is increasing there, it means not only Russia, but also Turkey is ex officio obliged to respond. That is, the purpose of provoking tension in Nakhichevan is also that Azerbaijan wants to involve Turkey more actively in the Karabakh process."

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