Tuesday, January 10 2023 17:32

ArmInfo.The countries of Europe and the United States do not intend to help the Armenian side in resolving the conflict (around Nagorno-Karabakh - ed. note), First  Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian  Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin told  the "Moscow Speaks" radio station.

"In this situation, statements that Armenia will not do something  about the CSTO do not strengthen Armenia in any way. They only  indicate that Pashinyan's government is takes efforts to changie its  ally, trying to attract the West to the region, in the hope that that  the West, the United States, France will help to deal with Turkey and  Azerbaijan, but they have never done this, and they will not do it, I  am sure, because the most important thing for them, especially for  the United States, is to remove Russia from this region.  They are  interested in the Armenian population and Nagorno-Karabakh, to a very  small extent," the Russian MP noted.

At the same time, Zatulin believes that the opinion of Western  countries can be influenced by the Armenian Diaspora, who are  fighting for the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, according  to him, their capacity is limited.  "Because of this, everything that  is happening now is the maneuvers of the Pashinyan government, which  has been frankly taking efforts for the last six months to change its  allies: the West Instead of Russia. the fact that these statements  were made almost simultaneously proves that the Armenian government  is trying to play. On the one hand, they declare their desire to  accept the Russian version [of the settlement of the situation in  Nagorno-Karabakh - MS note], without mentioning which one. On the  other hand, they simultaneously talk about their unwillingness to  take an active part in the CSTO, knowing full well that the CSTO -  this is a union established by Russia," he said.  Earlier, Zatulin,  in an interview with "Moscow Speaks", forecasted difficult  negotiations on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh. The MP noted that the  discussion would be about the status of the disputed territory.  It  should be noted that today, during a press conference, Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Yerevan does not consider it  expedient to conduct CSTO exercises in the republic in 2023 under  "these conditions." According to the prime minister, there is some  misunderstanding on this issue, since the Armenian defense minister  has already informed the CSTO Joint Headquarters that the Armenian  side does not consider it expedient to conduct exercises this year in  Armenia. "These exercises, at least this year, will not take place,"  Pashinyan said.  Moreover, the Prime Minister also assured that  Azerbaijan and the West consider Russia in Armenia as a threat,  against the background of the processes around Ukraine.  We add that  the Kremlin has already reacted to Pashinyan's statement regarding  the CSTO, noting that Moscow will clarify this issue.