Iskandaryan: Any region seems larger and more important from the  inside than from the outside

ArmInfo. There is a well-known fact in political science: any region is perceived as more significant and larger from the inside than from the outside, that is, what happens inside our region seems much more important to us  than if we were looking at it, for example, from New York.  

Political scientist and Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander  Iskandaryan said this in a conversation with an ArmInfo  correspondent, while discussing the purpose of the meeting between  the US President's Special Representative, Steve Witkoff, and the  President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. 

In this vein, Iskandaryan expressed his opinion that the value of the  so-called "Zangezur corridor" is exaggerated in the Armenian,  Azerbaijani and even Russian media, while lacking global  significance.  According to the political scientist, Witkoff was  unlikely to discuss this issue with Aliyev at the Baku airport, as it  is not as important as the Iranian-Israeli confrontation and the  events around Iran.  "Washington does not have a specific, verified  policy on the so-called "Zangezur corridor". The US position is  situational: regardless of whether this corridor opens or not, no one  will die or be resurrected in Washington because of this,"  Iskandaryan emphasized.  In this regard, the political scientist  explained that from an external perspective, all post-Soviet states  are perceived in the context of Russia and the countries surrounding  it. "They treat us depending on the situation that is developing  around Russia, primarily in the context of the issues around Ukraine.   Everything else is seen as insignificant, and only tackled by experts  in that specific field," the director of the Caucasus Institute  added.

Iskandaryan expressed his conviction that the main goal of Whitkoff's  in Baku is connected with Iran and the events  around this country. "I would even say that this is a kind of  triangle - Iran, Israel, the United States. In this sense, Azerbaijan  has a certain significance due to its geographical location. However,  it is impossible to visit Baku and not touch upon the  Armenian-Azerbaijani complex.  Perhaps, some statements were made  about the regulation of this issue and the need to resolve it  peacefully.  One of the reasons why Azerbaijan announced the approval  of a peace treaty with Armenia was also due to this. Although  Whitkoff was not in Baku at the time, we must understand that all  this is part of the overall process," the political scientist  explained. 

In light of this, Iskandaryan expressed the opinion that the US's  attention to the South Caucasus is now decreasing rather than  increasing. He added that there will be no clear policy from  Washington in this region, at least in the near future. Meanwhile,  the director of the Caucasus Institute clarified that this does not  mean that America does not influence events in the South Caucasus in  some way through the "other shoulder." He noted that when speaking  about relations between Europe and Russia, it is important to  recognize that these are the issues that the United States is dealing  with and will address to some extent.  However, according to  Iskandaryan, it is necessary to take into account that America has  certain interests in the region, including matters related to Iran  and Israel. In this context, the political scientist explained that  developments in Iran, for example, will also affect the South  Caucasus.  Touching upon whether Whitkoff had raised the issue of the  route through Syunik with Armenia during the meeting, Iskandaryan  noted that he does not think that Armenia is needed for the Middle  Corridor at all. He explained this by stating that discussions on  this issue are merely "figures of silence" or discourses that create  media noise. "The road from Azerbaijan to Turkey already exists and  doesn't require Armenia's involvement. We are talking about the  Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars route, which is already operational.   Additionally, there are highways. The only commodities that can be  transported from Azerbaijan to Europe through Turkey are oil and gas.  The necessary pipelines and gas pipelines already exist, and in this  sense, Armenia is not a "Crossroads of Peace". This is simply media  noise and holds no global significance," Iskandaryan concluded.

 Let us recall that after his visit to Moscow, Steve Witkoff traveled  through Baku, where he met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.  He spoke about this in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, where  he mentioned the international tasks assigned to him by Donald Trump  - Gaza, Ukraine, Iran  and also highlighted the issue of settling  Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.