Tuesday, August 2 2022 14:21

ArmInfo.Russia is well aware of what is happening. Moreover, even before the start of the war in Ukraine, it forecasted the current developments both in Ukraine  itself and in other regions. Alexei Malashenko, Chief Researcher at  the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the  Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO) expressed a similar opinion to  ArmInfo.

"In this light, what, for example, is taking place today in the South  Caucasus direction was also not a surprise for Moscow, hence all  those statements at the diplomatic level, which reflect Russia's  concern with possible geopolitical impulses in the regions  surrounding us. We also understand that the intentions and actions of  the same EU in the direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement  in no way reflect the results of trilateral statements with the  participation of Russia," he stressed.

At the same time, according to Malashenko, today Moscow cannot deal  with Caucasian problems with the same involvement with which it did  it, starting from November 9, 2020. And it realizes that the actions  of the EU and the US at this stage in the direction of the  Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, ultimately, are aimed at cutting off  Russia from the entire South Caucasus.

According to him, the same visit of CIA Director William Burns and  other State Department officials to the region did not go unnoticed  in Moscow and received an appropriate response.  Which does not at  all mean the cessation of the West's efforts in the direction of  bringing the processes between Armenia and Azerbaijan out of the  mediation of the Russian Federation to a bilateral level. The latter,  according to the ideas of the authors of this strategy, will make it  possible to neutralize the presence of the Russian Federation in the  entire region in the future.

"As you can see, all possible scenarios are being considered and  analyzed. Even the one according to which Russia can consciously make  concessions in some regions in order to gain something in others. At  whose expense this diplomatic trade will take place, I cannot say as  of today.  But the fact that active consultations are already  underway between Moscow, Ankara and Tehran, and that it is an attempt  to respond to the West, is noticeable even today.  Russia is doing   everything to avoid opening a second front. And Moscow's behavior in  the South Caucasus, among other things, is due to the unwillingness  of this prospect.  I think that this line will continue until the  Russian Federation manages to solve its geopolitical tasks in  Ukraine," Malashenko summed up.