Russia’s true desire in the South Caucasus, as well as in Ukraine, is to reduce the West's influence at its borders, in regions that Moscow has traditionally considered ‘its spheres of influence,’ reads an article by Ankara University Professor Yildiz Deveci Bozkus on the website of the Anadolu Agency, Report informs.
“All other undertakings of Moscow are far from sincerity. For example, Russia periodically holds talks with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, urging the parties to comply with the provisions of trilateral agreements. Another similar meeting took place at the CIS summit, where Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
At the same time, the main ‘problem’ in the understanding of Russia remains precisely the policy of UK, the US and the EU countries.
On the one hand, Russia is making sharp statements on the West regarding Caucasus, and on the other hand, as in the case of Ukraine, it is trying to demonstrate historical dominants,” the author believes.
However, this time everything is much more complicated in the South Caucasus, since the growing importance of Azerbaijan in terms of oil and gas supplies amid the energy crisis in Europe, as well as Baku’s constructive ties with the West, may force Moscow to take more cautious steps in the region.
“Moscow’s reaction to the situation around the Lachin road also affects Turkish-Armenian relations. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu openly called what is happening on the road connecting Khankandi city in Azerbaijan with the Armenian border a ‘test of sincerity for Yerevan,’ Professor Bozkus says, adding that the head of the Turkish diplomacy thereby drew attention to the fact that if tensions persist around the road, Turkiye’s relations with Armenia will also suffer.
This makes the Lachin road a key one both in Moscow’s relations with the West and in Yerevan’s relations with Ankara and Baku, Bozkus believes.
The attitude of the West and the EU countries towards the Karabakh problem for many years was reflected in the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group, which actually contemplated the fact of the Armenian occupation of the lands of Azerbaijan. However, in the last period, the attitude of the European Union to the situation in the South Caucasus has seriously changed. It is from this prism that initiatives to send a certain EU mission to the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be considered.
“In addition to the European Union, the position of the countries of the region regarding the Lachin road is also of no less importance. For example, the similarity of the attitude of Iran and a number of EU countries, mainly France, towards Armenia makes one wonder.”
Turkiye’s growing role in the region plays an important role in shaping the negative reaction of French politicians towards Azerbaijan in connection with the situation on the Lachin road.
“The growth of Ankara’s geopolitical influence in the region against the backdrop of Turkiye’s position during the 44-day war in the South Caucasus and mediation efforts in Ukraine causes undisguised dissatisfaction in Paris. One shouldn’t forget about the stereotypes of the historical biased perception of Turkiye and everything Turkish, both by European countries and Iran,” Yildiz Bozkus summed up.