Russia  interested in preserving Artsakh government in exile -  Hraparak

ArmInfo. The Russian Federation is interested in preserving the state institutions of the Republic of Artsakh in Armenia, namely the Artsakh government and parliament in  exile. A high-ranking source from Hraparak newspaper  has expressed  this opinion.

According to an unnamed source, the Armenian authorities have already  received a "yellow card" from the Russian leadership, warning them  not to take any initiatives to eliminate the government of Artsakh in  exile.

The newspaper notes that recently the Armenian authorities have been  unusually loyal to matters concerning the state structures of  Artsakh, whereas just a few months ago Pashinyan himself stated that  he would not tolerate a "state within a state",  intimidating   politicians of the unrecognized republic and warning them not  continue their political activities to preserve the state  institutions of Artsakh.

"They (the authorities) did not make a sound when the Constitution of  Artsakh was changed,  allowing the institutions of the president and  parliament to be preserved, and they also remained silent when the  decree of the President of the Republic of Artsakh Samvel  Shahramanyan was published,  invalidating the decree of September 26,  2023 on the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh. They are silent  now as well, as the NKR parliament must elect a new president by the  end of next week. Our sources report that the Armenian authorities  were told that the state institutions of Artsakh must be preserved,  at least formally, and the Artsakh issue should not be completely  closed," the newspaper writes.

 Meanwhile, according to independent observers, this demand to the  Armenian authorities certainly aligns with Russia's long-term  strategy in the region. As expected, the behavior of the Azerbaijani  leadership towards the Russian Federation has become extremely  hostile following the seizure of the Republic of Artsakh and the  ethnic cleansing that occurred there, on the "actual territory of  national autonomy." This has raised concerns in the Kremlin,  especially after the "surrender" of Nagorno-Karabakh, which resulted  in a loss of significant influence on Azerbaijan, as the country has  now aligned itself with the Turkish geopolitical factor. It is  possible that Russia is launching a long-term process of "correcting  mistakes," which may be implemented after the resolution of the  Ukrainian crisis.