Putin's Interview on Karabakh Addressed to Four Parties

Baku / 18.11.20 / Turan: On November 17, in a big interview with Russian TV, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in detail about the situation around Karabakh, outlining the place, role and goals of his country, as well as the rest of the participants in the process.

A significant part of his statements were addressed to the Armenian side. Putin's assessments of the role of Prime Minister Pashinyan were somewhat unexpected. In fact, Putin defended Pashinyan, saying that accusations of betraying Armenia's interests against the Prime Minister are unfounded.

Putin also set out the version of the reasons for the Karabakh conflict in a version favorable to the Armenians, starting with the events in Sumgait, and not the demands of the Armenians to transfer Karabakh to Armenia.

He also admitted that he did not agree to the participation of the Turkish military in the peacekeeping operation, explaining this by the "historical memory" of the Armenians, whom the Turks remind of the "genocide".

Putin also tried to disavow the statement of Ilham Aliyev that Karabakh will not receive any status, because Azerbaijan is a single state. Putin hinted vaguely that the status of Karabakh would be decided in the future.

All these gestures can be regarded as a desire to prevent the situation in Armenia from destabilizing, which can not only disrupt the implementation of all agreements, but also weaken the role of Russia itself. Such a scenario would certainly lead to the involvement of the West in the affairs of Armenia, and in Armenia itself it would lead to the strengthening of anti-Russian sentiments. The apogee of this may be the coming to power of nationalist forces demanding the withdrawal of the Russian military base from Armenia, and Armenia itself from the CSTO and the EurAsEC.

The thesis that the status of Karabakh should be resolved through negotiations in the future with the participation of the OSCE was addressed primarily to the United States and France, which are unhappy with Moscow's unilateral steps. However, such a message is unlikely to suit Washington and Paris, which are equally dissatisfied with the strengthening of both Russia and Turkey in the region.

In this regard, Moscow and Ankara have again become "situational allies," as Moscow likes to express it.

A positive assessment of Turkey's role in the conflict is a curtsey to Ankara and recognition of Turkey's right to participate in the processes in the region.

Recognition of the right of Azerbaijan to choose its own ally in the person of Turkey and confirmation that Karabakh and the regions around it are the legitimate territory of Azerbaijan were addressed to Baku.

At the same time, Putin hinted that Russian peacekeepers are inviolable. Thus, drawing a parallel between South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Karabakh, Putin said that Russia did not recognize Karabakh. Explaining the reason for this, he noted that the Georgian leadership carried out an attack on the Russian peacekeepers, which changed the situation. This comparison was addressed to Azerbaijan.

If we evaluate the interview as a whole, we can say that Putin proceeds from the fact that Russia has strengthened its position in the Caucasus and does not see a problem in the fact that it had to share this influence with Turkey, which has also strengthened. However, it is preferable for Russia that a regional country, Turkey, strengthens itself in the Caucasus, rather than Western countries. -02D-