Pundit: Pashinyan is actually driven into corner

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has actually been driven into a corner, his steps are miscalculated from the outset, Yevgeny Mikhailov, an expert on inter-ethnic conflicts and a member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, said in a comment on expectations from the trilateral meeting of the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders in Sochi today, Report informs.

"Many experts are still skeptical about the positive expectations from the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in Sochi, but I do not exclude that the meeting may surprise many skeptics, especially Western countries. It is no secret that Nikol Pashinyan has actually been driven into a corner. His steps are miscalculated from the outset, he allowed tough anti-Russian sentiments to flare up in his country, which was also expected. After all, despite all his oaths, promises and signed agreements, it was initially clear that he would be hindered by internal opponents inclined to rejection of Armenia from Russia and its national interests in the region," the pundit said.

Mikhailov added that after Pashinyan and his entourage began to try to take away the role of the "main peacemaker" from Moscow, Russia's patience has come to an end, and "especially when Yerevan decided to choose an alternative form of the negotiations process, which will be held in Brussels on December 15."

"The meeting in Sochi is a preventive act. The fact that Pashinyan agreed to it prior to the Brussels (meeting on December 15) speaks volumes, and above all that Moscow was able to convey to him and his team all the arguments that Pashinyan's team was wrong. It is obvious that Russian President Vladimir Putin has enough levers, both economic and political, to bring Yerevan to its senses," Mikhailov added.