ArmInfo.The South Caucasus is an example allowing a claim that it is not only economic warfare the West is conducting against Russia. All the spheres of Russian influence are under attack, Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, said in an interview with ArmInfo.
"Armenia's application to the OSCE Minsk Group over Azerbaijan's proposals, France's intensified efforts in the South Caucasus, [Armenian Prime Minister Nikol] Pashinyan's visit to Paris, the talks U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French Foreign Minister [Jean-Yves Le Drian] had with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders - all that might well be expected. We are perfectly aware of the West seeking to weaken Russia in all the possible ways. In this context, they are attempting to undertake an initiative to find a political solution to the problems in the South Caucasus as well," Mr Lukyanov said.
Moscow is realizing and analyzing this, behaving with assurance, primarily in virtue of a need to cause the West to accelerate its actions in the South Caucasus as a guarantee of success. However, prompt actions are not a priority of the West's policy. Mr Lukyanov points out a link between the prospects of the end of war in Ukraine and the Caucasus-related prospects and rules out the possibility of neutralizing Russia's influence in the South Caucasus, of its secession from the OSCE Minsk Group and leaving the region in the foreseeable future.
The West is seeking to gain a foothold not only in Ukraine, but also in the other spheres of Russia's influence, with the South Caucasus being a priority and strategically most important region, with its great potential of geoeconomic development in the context of infrastructure project implementation. This is one of the reasons for the geopolitical rivalry for the region, with the West getting deeper involved in it.
"By losing the 44-day war, which, in fact, incapacitated the OSCE Minsk Group, the West 'lost' its involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and is now seeking to regain its positions by establishing cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan. But the real state of affairs, including as a result of the 44-day war, is not so easy to ignore. Russia is exercising influence in the region and has relations with the regional states, and neutralizing it is not an easy task. The USA and the EU are relying on the war in Ukraine, seeking to take advantage of it. But war is temporary. So I do not think their reckoning is relevant, much less feasible," Mr Fyodor Lukyanov.