ArmInfo. The scandals in PACE showed that Russian and Azerbaijani corruption are Siamese twins. A similar opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by associate expert of the Armenian Institute of International and Security Affairs Ruben Mehrabyan.
"One of the heads works against Georgia and Ukraine, the second works against Armenia, however, they have one stomach. In this light, the steps taken in PACE towards returning the voting right to Russia are another serious test for Armenian diplomacy. The dangers faced by this pan-European structure also threaten the interests of Armenia ", he stressed.
According to Mehrabyan, only Poland, Sweden, Georgia and Ukraine openly oppose Russia's "returning", the position of the other PACE member countries is unclear. In this light, Armenia, in his view, has no other choice than relying on its own diplomacy and determination, without interfering in this situation in case there is no special need. The expert is convinced that the "return" of Moscow threatens not only the image of the PACE, but also democratic values, repeatedly violated by Moscow, in which tens of millions of people believe. In his opinion, the leadership of the Council of Europe cannot and does not have the right to ignore this fact.
"Of course, the last thing we should do is teaching Russians the reason or Europeans what they should do and what they should not, how to build or settle their mutual relations. Ultimately, they did not need our advice and they don't need it now, they have never asked for it and are unlikely to ever ask. Accordingly, we can only wait for the consequences for ourselves. It is already clear that the "return" of Russia will simply mess up PACE and lead this structure in a functional sense to a new crisis, "the expert believes. The quality of elections in Russia, the refusal of Moscow to comply with the ECtHR decisions, transnational Russian corruption, the absence of changes in the essence of the Russian government means that the "return" of such Russia gives the green light to all anti-liberal and anti-democratic forces and actors who are alien to the values of Europe.
"In the case of Armenia, this also means that in the face of the corrupt dictatorship of Aliyev, Moscow is acquiring a serious ally on this European platform. They will also sing along with the Turks, whose attitude towards Europe does not differ much from Russia's. And most importantly, a wide opportunities will open up for them based on the thesis" century-old friendship, "indecent proposals from the" ally "of Armenia, which certainly doesn't promise anything good," the expert forecasts.