NATO will be able to expand into the post-Soviet area only if Russia faces a total collapse. Otherwise, I see no way for NATO to do it, Sergey Markedonov, visiting researcher at the Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies, said during an online press-conference on Monday.
According to Markedonov, the willingness of Azerbaijan, Georgia or Ukraine is not decisive here. "This is not as easy as it may seem. NATO is not a monolith. The positions of France and Germany are much different from the position of the United States. The same is true for the post-Soviet republics – each of them has a different attitude towards its possible membership to NATO," the expert said.
When asked if Azerbaijan is pro-Western or not, Markedonov said that today there is no more cold war. "The contradictions between Russia and the United States are just a clash of interests rather than a conflict of ideologies. So, there is no need for a final choice between them. Today, Azerbaijan is neither pro-Russian nor pro-American, it is pro- Azeri. The same is true for Armenia. The only exception was Saakashvili's pro-American Georgia. All the other countries are trying to find a balance in their relations," Markedonov said.
Markedonov's press-conference was part of a project carried out by Region Research Center (Armenia) and Peace and Democracy Institute (Azerbaijan) with the support of the British embassies in Armenia and Azerbaijan with a view to expand knowledge of Armenians and Azerbaijani about each other and to build confidence through first-hand information.