Cold war between Russia, West sure to transform their geopolitical rivalry in different regions - Victor Nadein-Raevskiy

ArmInfo.The cold war between Russian and the West will, beyond doubt, transform their geopolitical rivalry in different regions - even with new configurations, Victor  Nadein-Raevskiy, Senior Researcher at the Institute of World Economy  and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said  in an interview with ArmInfo. 

"It is clear it is Ukraine and all the developments surrounding it  that is the reason and basis for such configurations. Specifically,  before the Ukraine crisis, even amid trained relations Russia, the  West recognized the South Caucasus a region under Russian influence.  So it was cooperating with Moscow as the principal mediator in the  Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. But we do not see this configuration  now, and the West is positioning itself as the principal external  actor both in the region and in the conflict," Mr Nadein-Raevskiy.

The disturbed geopolitical balance in the South Caucasus is an  accomplished fact, he said. In this context, the expert points out  Moscow's attempts to cope with the sanctions-caused shock. Weaker  Russia is to the advantage of all actors, primarily Turkey. So Mr  Nadein-Raevskiy finds it difficult to speak of any of the mediators'  chances to independently prepare a peace agreement between Armenia  and Azerbaijan. 

In any case, it is at least too early to disregard Russia's role, as  even the war will not make Russia forget it national security  interests and allow the European Union to become the only mediator in  the South Caucasus. So the EU and Russia will go on rivaling for  influence in the region. 

"Moscow has displayed its determination to push ahead with its own  mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and in all that has to do  with a peace agreement between the conflicting parties. And its  success depends on Yerevan and Baku as well, while these could well  continue their negotiations under the EU auspices - especially in the  context of promised financial injections into the region. But Russia  has its own instruments and mechanisms and, I think, Moscow is  capable of torpedoing any process that would be in conflict with its  interests," Mr Nadein-Raevskiy said.