ArmInfo. The statements from Yerevan about the need to deepen military-political allied relations with Russia are by no means new. And Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan himself voiced them several times. A similar opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by Alexander Skakov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
It should be noted that after the defeat of Armenia in the 44-day war and the signing on November 9 of a trilateral declaration of truce between the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Pashinyan has voiced similar statements both in Armenia and outside Armenia several times. "It should be noted that unlike the defense of Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia is obliged to defend Armenia. This is evidenced by the content of our existing bilateral agreements. The military alliance between Russia and Armenia exists and this is clearly regulated by the existing legal framework. The exception is the Russian peacekeeping operation in Karabakh. It is simply necessary to save the lives of the population. Although it must be admitted that in addition to the humanitarian component, there are also geopolitical considerations, "he stressed.
In this light, the Russian orientalist motivates the latest pro-Russian statements of the Armenian prime minister by the need of Moscow's support in the upcoming electoral processes in Armenia. At the very least, the absence of obstacles in his path from the Russian leadership and gaining the trust of the Kremlin as a reliable partner. At the same time, Skakov assesses Pashinyan's position within Armenia itself as rather weak. And his power, according to the Russian orientalist, is retained only due to the lack of forces capable of seriously competing with him.
In this context, Skakov highlighted the planned visit of the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov to Yerevan and Baku. In his opinion, a number of new circumstances have been added to the existing circumstances in favor of this visit after the last year's war. According to the orientalist, Lavrov, who was at the origin of the formation of the trilateral November and January statements, intends to consistently monitor their implementation. "It is clear that the internal political processes in Armenia significantly hinder the diplomatic activity of Yerevan, and this is not in the interests of Moscow, which strives for the full implementation of all the agreements reached without exception," he stressed.
"All this concerns both the Zangezur corridor and the implementation of the Russian peacekeeping mission, and the return of Armenian prisoners to their homeland from Azerbaijan. It is also clear that it is important for Moscow to maintain control over the processes in the region in the light of the activation of the Caucasian direction of the Biden administration's policy. It also should be stressed that Moscow by no means opposes the restoration of the full-fledged work of the Minsk OSCE, being more than ever interested in preventing a new escalation of the situation, "Skakov summed up.