ArmInfo. Within less than a year Russia has lost its role of principal mediator in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, believes Sergey Markedonov, Senior Researcher at the Institute for International Studies (IIS), Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
"I am writing it with a heavy heart. However, arguing with reality is not the best thing to do. So within less than a year (if we start with November 26, 2021, when the third agreement was signed) Russia has lost its role of the principal (in fact the only) mediator in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. That role was recognized by all the key actors - from Iran and Turkey to the West (before the first meeting in Brussels, Macron and Michel used to clarify all the details with Putin)," the expert said.
And the western agenda is leading now. The Prague meeting only cemented what commenced in Brussels last December.
"The EU is leading the way, whether you like it or not. And the United States is totally supporting the policy. Moscow is late with its initiatives. Overchuk was saying something after Pelosi's visit, Zakharova was telling about Khovaev's efforts and 'comprehensive proposals' after four rounds of Brussels talks, visits by Reeker, Pashinyan's visit to Paris and almost simultaneously with the Prague meeting," Markedonov said.
"They can say to me: 'Pashing was seeking the West, and his team even more so.' Whether he did or not, he became actively engaged with the West only after Moscow stopped responding to the signals concerning Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border," Markedonov said.
For example, what prevented to propose deploying an CSTO observer mission without any unilateral support for Armenia before France and Pashinyan proposed a type of Georgian EUMM in Armenia?
"We should draw lessons before it is too late. The game is not over yet. Competent repositioning could work. But who is going to do it? The problem is that great powers are not formed with the help of 'weeping patriotism'," Markedonov wrote.