ArmInfo. With the third truce between the parties to the Artsakh conflict, the United States is demonstrating its status as an influential country in the world, power # 1. A similar opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by political strategist Vigen Hakobyan.
On October 24, Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, at a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Bigan, "reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the ceasefire agreement for humanitarian purposes." On October 25, the State Department announced the return of the parties to the conflict to a ceasefire at 08:00 on October 26. This is already the third initiative on a ceasefire for humanitarian purposes, however, according to the Artsakh Defense Army, Azerbaijan has already violated this ceasefire.
"The US mediation in this issue, the meetings of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan with the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, his deputy Stephen Bigan are in no way, shall we say, on duty. Such mediation would not give any pre-election preferences to the current administration. Active involvement of the US in the settlement of the situation. The administration is trying to use around Artsakh to increase Donald Trump's pre-election chances, "he stressed.
According to the forecasts of the political strategist, the efforts of the United States may also be conditioned by the calls of the President of the Russian Federation Putin addressed to Washington to join Moscow's efforts towards achieving a settlement. And of course, the efforts of the third co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, France.
Against this background, Baku, according to his estimates, perfectly aware of its own difference in weight with Russia, the United States and France, is definitely ready for political bargaining. Unlike Turkey. Nevertheless, in the opinion of the political strategist, the co-chair countries certainly have mechanisms to pacify Azerbaijan's militancy. And Baku understands this very well.
"It should be noted that in the current realities, a ceasefire, especially the settlement of the conflict, implies the need for an agreement with Turkey. And, in this light, it is important to note the part of President Putin's Valdai speech dedicated to his relations with Erdogan. Noting Erdogan's harsh rhetoric, Putin emphasized his flexibility, respectively, his readiness for political bargaining, "- said the political strategist. Speaking on October 22 at the Valdai Discussion Club, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented in great detail the main priorities and position of Russia in the current war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He also commented on the current level of relations with Turkey, describing very flatteringly its President Erdogan. On the whole, the speech of the Russian president was of an emphatically neutral character.