ArmInfo. The last telephone conversation between the presidents of Russia and France, naturally, was aimed at increasing the efficiency of the OSCE Minsk Group format. Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
"Of course, Putin and Macron are also trying to overcome, smear the differences, that have arisen among the co-chairing countries after the trilateral statement of November 9th. I think that consultations between Moscow and Paris will continue until the start of Joe Biden's legislature and by this time, Washington will join the process. However, it is too early to forecast whether any corrections will be made as a result of this," he said
According to the analyst, Russia does not intend to completely abandon the OSCE Minsk Group, preferring to work in the Artsakh direction on two fronts. In this light, he noted that at the time of crisis, Moscow settled issues in cooperation with Ankara. However, according to President Putin, the Minsk format has not expired itself and may well become a platform for further discussion within the framework of the game with Turkey. Lukyanov considers this position a sign of Moscow's flexibility.
Considering Russian-Turkish relations as very complex, contradictory, flexible and multi-layered, Lukyanov emphasized the need for Moscow to use any platform to obtain an arena for greater maneuvering in relations with Ankara. In this light, the analyst considers the preservation of the Minsk format as an additional lever of Russian pressure on Turkey and Azerbaijan.
According to Lukyanov's forecasts, taking into account the active work of the West towards recognizing the status of Artsakh, which is contradicted by the Statement of November 9, contradictions in the work within the OSCE MG will continue. In this light, in his opinion, the position of Armenia acquires additional importance. And the fact that the latter today is focused on security issues, in which Armenia has no alternative to Russia, according to the analyst, creates additional difficulties.
"The issues of ensuring security and borders, at first glance, do not contain a resource for reactivating the MG. Nevertheless, Moscow still needs to preserve the Minsk format. And against the background of the absence of a settlement to the conflict, this format may well continue to serve as a lever for the legitimate resolution of the whole a number of problems based on international consensus ", Lukyanov summed up.