ArmInfo.Brussels' agreement to send a technical observation mission to Armenia is a significant factor in the region and may be considered the first real step to bring the West back into the affairs of the region and the Karabakh settlement issue. Ivan Preobrazhensky, a Russian analyst and expert on Central and Eastern Europe who is currently in the Czech Republic, expressed this idea in an interview with 1in TV.
in order not to provoke a forced intervention by the European Union, if suddenly the EU is not ready to intervene at this moment "The arrival of such a mission also means the arrival of a source of all-European information, moreover, a verified one, which is trusted by all the foreign ministries of European countries and which cannot be ignored. It is clear that the mission will dose information and coordinate it with Brussels, in order not to provoke a forced intervention by the European Union, in case the EU is not ready to intervene at that point.
But, nevertheless, this is a very significant factor that brings the EU back to the Karabakh settlement, since, apart from France, almost all European countries have left the region. And despite the so-called Minsk Group, in recent years, in fact, France gave priority to Russia in terms of settlement, and everyone agreed with this. And the West, as relations with Russia deteriorated, was less and less ready to interfere in its affairs. In fact, this is the first step to bring the Europeans back on a more serious and, most importantly, technical level", the analyst noted. He emphasized that the work of the technical mission in Armenia is also important, because if necessary, it will be able to expand and adopt other forms of presence here.
Meanwhile, speaking about the meeting between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the analyst opined that there should not be high expectations for this meeting in the sense that the request from Armenia is obvious and understandable, but at the same time, Armenia is not a member of the Alliance and cannot count on NATO to provide serious assistance.
"Moreover, I think that in the current situation, NATO will not even be part of the peacekeeping contingent, , if it comes to that. Now NATO has other problems, problems connected with Ukraine. There may be words of general support, there may also be unofficial signals from Turkey as a NATO member, but this is the maximum that can be expected in this situation," Preobrazhensky noted.
At the same time, he recalled that Turkey has long ignored any unofficial signals of the bureaucratic leadership of the North Atlantic Alliance. Such meetings, he said, cannot have a serious impact on political decision-making by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Commenting on the reasons that during the regional visit of NATO representative Javier Colomina, he was received in Armenia by Pashinyan himself, and in Azerbaijan only by Foreign Minister Bayramov, the political scientist noted that Azerbaijan is sure that Turkey is backing it. A country that is a member of NATO and is quite influential within the organization and quite independent in making military and foreign policy decisions.
Accordingly, Baku cannot refuse a visit to the Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General, but at the same time not seek to meet with him at the highest level, thus trying to demonstrate its real attitude towards such contacts. Baku wants to say that it is ready to enter into technical cooperation with NATO, but it is not going to discuss its political and military projects, including in relation to Armenia and Karabakh. "In order to get a result on Azerbaijan, the meeting must be held in Ankara," the analyst stressed, noting, however, that there are countries within NATO that advocate Azerbaijan ending pressure on Armenia and lifting the blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh. France is at the forefront of these countries.
In this regard, the analyst stressed that the role of France within NATO is large enough and it must be taken into account that, as a nuclear power, France, after the UK left the EU, simultaneously represents the entire European Union. , the analyst said.
The political scientist expressed confidence that now it is necessary to withstand the blockade of Nagorno- Karabakh. , Preobrazhensky noted.