ArmInfo.Without a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russia and Turkey have nothing to do in the South Caucasus. A similar opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by the famous Russian orientalist Alexei Malashenko.
"In the current, next round of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Kremlin has taken a position so as not to offend anyone. Or to offend as gently as possible. If there is a conflict, then there is the presence of Russia. Accordingly, Russia needs both a presence in the South Caucasus and a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, if there is no conflict, then Russia will have absolutely nothing to do in this region. It should be noted that today Moscow is engaged in peacekeeping quite successfully. So in last year's situation, Putin behaved very correctly, "he stressed. On the other hand, according to Malashenko, Turkey, headed by Erdogan, who is obsessed with Turkish greatness, is interested in the conflict. According to him, in Nagorno-Karabakh, wherever acting in this way, he can present Turkey as an effective powerful power equal at least to Russia, or even the United States, he will do it. Thus, aimed at the greatness of Turkey, Erdogan's general line is absolutely clear to the expert. The whole question is in the price by which he fulfills it. And it is different everywhere.
According to the orientalist, nevertheless, Turkey's periodically growing cold and then warming relations with Israel and Russia raise questions. And, for example, it is not clear whether Moscow and Ankara are partners or rivals in Syria. And in this geopolitical confusion, experts are constantly looking for some kind of Turkish political intrigue. Meanwhile, in reality, in his opinion, all these intrigues are aimed at the most important thing - to demonstrate the presence and influence of Turkey. And here, for Erdogan and his inner circle, it does not matter at all where this influence is demonstrated - in Karabakh, Palestine or Syria. Against this background, the West, according to Malashenko, can only take active steps towards restoring its own presence in the South Caucasus, in general, and in the region of the Karabakh conflict, in particular. And today, according to his estimates, this is done through efforts towards the restoration of the Minsk format for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Thus, the collective West, in his opinion, is trying to at least partially restore the status quo that preceded the 44-day war.
"So, the Turks, for their own purposes, played the role of a catalyst and stimulator of the Karabakh conflict. And besides the Turks, there are, of course, political ambitions, history and ethnic factor in the foundation of the conflict. All this makes the solution of the Karabakh problem practically impossible. And all this grim cocktail allows us to predict that it will remain unresolved for generations. The conflict can be resolved if Yerevan and Baku really want it and just sit at the same table, preferably with Armenian brandy. And this is the only way out. But we see that both sides don't want it. And of course, Karabakh is a payment for the Soviet Union, "Malashenko summed up.