Thursday, March 3 2022 18:07

ArmInfo. The declaration signed with Russia in Moscow, together with the "Shushi" declaration signed with Turkey, narrowed Aliyev's maneuvering space to a minimum.    Vardan Voskanyan, Head of the Chair of Iranian Studies at YSU  Faculty of Oriental Studies told ArmInfo.  On February 22, a  Declaration on Allied Interaction was signed between Russia and  Azerbaijan in Moscow. Several of the 44 paragraphs of this document  relate to cooperation in the military sector.

"It should be emphasized that in the declaration signed between  Ankara and Baku, the two dictators Aliyev and Erdogan call each other  brothers and swear eternal friendship. The latter is based on the  concept of "one people - two states" laid down by Ilham's father  Heydar Aliyev. It is clear that there is no such rhetoric and  epithets in the declaration with the Russian Federation. However,  there is something to worry about - the Russian president has been  continuously talking with Aliyev in Moscow for 5 hours," he stressed.

And unlike the published and accessible points of the  Russian-Azerbaijani declaration, the content of this conversation is  unknown. Meanwhile, according to Voskanyan, the last factor is the  most important. In particular, in view of the formation of quite  definite opportunities and mechanisms for actions in the anti-  Russian vector for Azerbaijan in the light of recent developments in  Ukraine.

In this light, he recalled Aliyev's underlined determination to meet  Europe's desire to significantly reduce its own energy dependence on  Russia. In particular, from the supply of Russian gas. According to  Voskanyan, Baku is one of the vectors of this EU policy. At the same  time, the latter has already expressed its readiness to increase gas  supplies to Europe.

According to Voskanyan, if Aliyev takes practical steps in this  direction, this will be Azerbaijan's direct and open participation in  the economic war declared to Russia and carried out by the West. And,  according to the expert, as of today Moscow is trying to bind Aliyev  with a signed declaration and limit to a minimum the space for him to  make decisions in this direction.

"Nevertheless, with or without declarations, it is more than obvious  that Aliyev's Azerbaijan is a deeply anti-Russian state. Another  thing is that the anti-Russian sentiments of the Baku ruling elite  are latent. This makes them even more dangerous. Both the ruling  elite in Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani society have an anti-Russian  attitude. In Moscow, of course, everyone sees and understands this  very well. But we, in turn, must understand that there are several  towers in the Kremlin, and lobbying activities are actively carried  out under them at the suggestion of the Aliyev regime. Mainly through  bribing various Russian officials working for bribes against the  interests of not only Armenia, but also their own country," Voskanyan  summed up.