Forecast: New military conflicts in the South Caucasus are not  excluded at all

ArmInfo.New military conflicts in the South Caucasus are not excluded at all. Today it seems that we can speak about it quite definitely. Russian political scientist,  expert on the Caucasus Andrei Areshev, expressed such an opinion to ArmInfo.

"In the context of the current tension in Ukraine and around Ukraine,  one can clearly see the desire of Baku to use the situation for its  own purposes. It is clear that the latter consists in obtaining the  maximum possible concessions from Yerevan. The desire of the Armenian  leadership to resolve the situation and curb Azerbaijani appetites  through the West is also obvious. I'm afraid that the hopes for  Western help will not come true and in return the Armenian society  will only receive another assurance of friendliness," he said.

In any case, Areshev sees Armenia's desire to diversify its foreign  policy. Which, in his opinion, in the current geopolitical realities  can lead to strengthening relations with Turkey rather than with the  West. The political scientist believes that Armenia has recently been  quite actively moving in the Turkish direction.

According to the political scientist, gainst this background, Moscow  is pursuing a fairly balanced policy between Yerevan and Baku, an  example of which was the recent signing of the allied declaration of  the Russian Federation-Azerbaijan. Taking into account Armenia's  participation in joint integration projects with Russia and  high-level bilateral relations, this document, in his opinion, will  not have a negative impact on Russian-Armenian relations.

"It is important to understand that against the backdrop of a  constantly changing geopolitical situation, both Armenia and  Azerbaijan are important regional partners for the Russian Federation  in terms of ensuring regional security. I think that Moscow will  continue to work towards achieving peace and stability in the region.  The main indicator of which may be an agreement to continue the  mission of Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh," he stressed.

According to Areshev, the latter, among other things, also requires  the successful development of a dialogue between the Russian  Federation and Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation and Armenia,  including in the direction of development of economic and  communication cooperation. According to his forecasts, accordingly,  the more predictability and openness of Moscow-Baku relations, will  lead to stabilization of the situation around Artsakh, under the  control of the peacekeepers of the Russian Federation.