Forecast: Brussels is unable to replace Moscow in Artsakh

ArmInfo. In the context of the ongoing conflict between the West and Russia concentrated in Ukraine, it is impossible to make any predictions regarding the prospects for resolving the Artsakh problem. Director of the Caucasus Institute,  Alexander Iskandaryan, expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.

"This conflict, to put it mildly, leaves no place and, most  importantly, time for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict for  Moscow and not only for this conflict. Today, the Russian Federation  is pursuing a policy of minimizing risks for itself and maintaining  the status quo in the South Caucasus as a whole, and in Central  Asia," he said.

Commenting on the desire of the EU to become an alternative platform  for the settlement of Armenian- Azerbaijani problems, the political  scientist assessed it, in general, positively. However, at the same  time, he expressed his conviction that the EU is not capable of  replacing the Russian Federation on this international track. If only  simply because Moscow is not just an intermediary in this matter, but  also a participant in the game. Which was vividly expressed by the  sale of weapons to Armenia and Azerbaijan and the presence of Russian  troops on the territory of Armenia and Artsakh.

Taking into account the common border with Azerbaijan, the many ways  to influence Armenia, Moscow as a whole has much greater  opportunities to influence both countries than the EU, which, in his  opinion, means one thing - the European format is not able to replace  the Russian negotiating format.

"However, it would be great if Brussels somehow complements Moscow in  this regard, which will also be quite difficult, given the  contradictions between the West and Russia. Moreover, if Moscow  suddenly decides to squeeze someone out of the process, then it has  at its disposal a significantly wider toolkit than the same  Europeans," he said.