Political scientist: Baku`s achievement is that we have long been  defending not Artsakh, but Syunik

ArmInfo. I personally regard the official appeal of Armenia to the CSTO in connection with the situation around Lake Sev Lich as an appeal to Russia itself.  Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan expressed a  similar opinion to ArmInfo.

On the morning of May 12, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces crossed the  border in the area of Lake Sev Lich, advancing into the territory of  Armenia up to 3.5 kilometers in order to establish control over the  lake. In the evening of the same day, at a meeting of the Security  Council of Armenia, acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described  what happened in Syunik region as a sabotage move. He also assessed  this situation as at least close to a crisis. Yesterday, Yerevan  officially applied for help to the CSTO in this regard.

"I think that no one in Yerevan expects that the rest of the CSTO  countries will send their troops to Armenia. In general, the appeal  to the CSTO is conditioned by the expectations of Moscow's measures  to stabilize the situation on the border. Without a doubt, Moscow has  opportunities for direct pressure on Baku. But it is also unambiguous  that Russia will not use all its own instruments to achieve the  expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia. There will be only diplomacy,  talks, negotiations, but there will be no hard pressure from Moscow  on Baku, "he stressed.

Moreover, according to the political scientist, for Russia, by and  large, it makes no difference whether the lake is under the control  of Armenia or Azerbaijan. In this light, Iskandaryan emphasized that  even the successful expulsion of the Azerbaijani military back home,  which he doubts, will not change the general situation in the current  relations between Yerevan and Baku.

And the question here, according to the political scientist, is not  at all in the lake, which the Azerbaijanis, according to him, by the  way, openly speak about. According to Iskandaryan's forecasts, there  will be many more such situations. And all this will take place  regardless of the solution to today's specific problem of Sev Lich.  Although Azerbaijan may have local reasons for the seizure of this  territory, for example, the water resources of the lake. This height  may also be of strategic importance.

"All this, of course, can be so. But the main reason for Baku's  actions is a change in attitudes toward the conflict around Artsakh,  a change in attitudes toward Artsakh within Armenia itself. Listen to  the statements of the Armenian leadership, politicians, journalists  and it will become clear to you that we for a long time already we  are not defending Artsakh, we are defending Syunik. Baku dictates the  agenda inside Armenia - this is what it does! And we repeatedly  involve in this agenda imposed on us. Another political goal of Baku  is to maintain constant internal political instability and tension in  Armenia. And I think that all this will continue in the future,  "Iskandaryan summed up.