In a joint press conference with the Armenian president on August 10th, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, summarized Russia’s stance on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict:
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Russia is interested in decreased tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, we will continue direct contacts with Yerevan and Baku and continue to help unravel the ‘Karabakh knot’ in any way we can. We hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will be able to come to an agreement without ‘losers and winners.’ ”
Sargsyan, intending the recent meeting between Putin, Aliyev and Erdogan, mentioned “the intense foreign negotiations of Vladimir Putin” were closely monitored over the course of the week in Yerevan.
“I thank the Russian president for the information provided about this meeting and I am sure that Armenia can only benefit from Russia’s role in the region.” Sargsyan said.
Touching on the problem of Karabakh, the Armenian president reinforced the importance of “the implementation of the 1994 – 1995 cease fire accords, the creation of a mechanism to investigate incidents along the line of contact and the widening of the OSCE monitoring mission.”
Sargsyan thanked Putin “for his personal contributions to the peace process.”
Armenia pointed out once again that it does not accept the proposal to have Nagorno Karabakh returned to Azerbaijan as an independent and autonomous province: “The essence of the Karabakh problem is the struggle for the people to secure their right to self – determination. This is an unalienable right of all peoples. Today, with the Russian president, we had a detailed conversation namely about this subject.” said Sargsyan.
During the briefing, an Armenian journalist asked Putin, “Is it right that in St. Petersburg at the trilateral meetings, the Armenian side agreed to give up first 5 regions and then another 3?”
The same journalist later asked: “Does selling large amounts of weapons to Azerbaijan and then delivering large amounts of weapons to Armenia not create tensions in the region?”
Without commenting on the question of returning the mentioned regions, Putin advised the journalist to refer to the author of the mentioned statement.
He did point out, however, that:
“Armenia is looking for a way out of this conflict and for the sake of economic development and a higher standard of life for the people is interested in lifting all infrastructure and economic limitations. Azerbaijan seeks the same goals. But it is necessary to find the appropriate approach to make sure that neither side feel themselves to be either ‘losers’ or ‘winners’. It is also necessary for the societies of these two countries to agree with what is accepted on the political and government level.” informed Putin.
In response to the second question, the Russian president that Russia will not reneg on its promises to Armenia, and that any country in the world is able to buy weapons from a variety of sources: Azerbaijan, with its large gold reserves, is capable of doing the same.
“Do you understand, from anywhere!” Putin emphasized.
Political scientist, Zardusht Alizade, who commented on the discussions of the press conference to Meydan TV correspondents, said that if it weren’t for Russia and the ‘Western Factor’, the Karabakh conflict would not have been formed:
“A guard dog leaves the prints of a wolf… the West directed the Armenians with these imaginary goals to destroy Russia and the USSR… The roles of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict are not independent – they are simply helpers and pawns in a large game: in which the Kremlin’s goal is to retain its hegemony in the Southern Caucasus. Time has passed, and the Kremlin has achieved its aim: the leaders of the two republics are on their knees before Moscow. In fact, this issue can not even be solved without Moscow’s permission.”
The political commentator says that Russia’s relationship to the Southern Caucasus will only change if the country becomes a democracy and it relinquishes its empire – like hold on the South Caucasus: “At the moment, we are not witnessing such developments. Such a state doesn’t want to solve this conflict. It’s right that the earlier format is not working, and in order to retain the status quo they will tell us some fairy tales. The aim is to strengthen Russia’s capabilities in the framework of the conflict.”
Z. Alizade considers Putin’s words just a fairy tale: “He can not openly tell the Armenian nation: we keep you in the position of servants through the Karabakh conflict, and in order to make sure you stay servants, we will continue to tell you fairy – tales.”
