Political scientist: The key to the successful development of  relations between Armenia and Russia is the ability to call things by  their proper names

ArmInfo.The appeal of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Baku to release all Armenian prisoners of war without any preconditions is a reflection of the  current situation, international pressure and the growing inadequacy  of Azerbaijan. Commenting on the results of the visit of newly  appointed Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan to Moscow,  political scientist Ruben Mehrabyan expressed a similar opinion to  ArmInfo.

"It should be emphasized that such an unequivocal call from Moscow on  this issue was made for the first time. Azerbaijan's refusal to  return our prisoners of war forces the Russian leadership to make  such statements, if only because it is Moscow that is a direct  participant in the agreements reached on this issue.  Thus, the  Russian Federation is trying to throw off the burden of  responsibility for the prisoners of war.  Moreover, the  abovementioned circumstances in combination simply force the Russian  Federation to take the right side," he stressed.

On August 31, at a joint press conference with his Russian  counterpart in Moscow, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan  stated that the issue of returning Armenian prisoners of war is  extremely topical in the context of the implementation of the  trilateral statement on Artsakh. Stressing that 10 months after the  end of the war, Azerbaijan, in violation of international  humanitarian law, is torpedoing the implementation of the provisions  of the trilateral statement, Mirzoyan recalled that Armenia has  returned all Azerbaijani prisoners of war. A long-term settlement  presupposes the return of all prisoners of war and other detainees  without exception to their homeland.

In turn, Sergey Lavrov said that Russia was sending messages to Baku  at various levels, calling for the release of Armenian captives  without preconditions. "The President of Russia in his contacts with  President Aliyev, and we at other levels are sending this message to  our Azerbaijani counterparts, calling for the release of everyone  without any conditions. This would be a symbolic measure of the very  trust that is now lacking. This would be an important humanitarian  step ",  said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.  

According to the political scientist, the statements made by Lavrov  at the meeting with Mirzoyan do not exclude the possibility of  voicing encouraging statements from Moscow to Baku. In any case,  Mehrabyan sees the guarantee of the successful development of  relations between Armenia and Russia in the ability of the parties to  call things by their proper names. Which, in his opinion, was done by  the Armenian Foreign Minister at a meeting with his Russian  counterpart.  

In general, Mehrabyan connects the prospects of the Armenian-Russian  relations with the position of Moscow. According to his forecasts, if  the positioning of the current attitude of the Russian Federation to  Armenia continues, Yerevan will follow the course of such relations  only to the extent that it will be forced to do so. The second, even  more negative option is Russia's actions, which directly contradict  the interests of Armenia, which leaves no room for prospects at all.   In this light, the political scientist believes that much in the  prospects for relations between Moscow and Yerevan depends on Moscow.