PanARMENIAN.Net

Sergey Markedonov: Yerevan tied of being hostage to Kremlin and Gazprom
17.02.2007 13:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Moscow and Yerevan’s vision of the Armenian-Russian
partnership and the Nagorno Karabakh problem weren’t traditionally a
topic of bilateral consensus, head of the department of international
relations at the institute of political and military studies Sergey
Markedonov said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net. `In this view,
hopes for Baku’s joining the `anti-Tbilisi’ pact were not justified.
Moscow’s wish to restraint Azerbaijan encouraged Baku for activation
of talks with NATO and conclusion of a trilateral
agreement. Meanwhile, implementation of a railway project bypassing
Armenia strengthens Azerbaijan’s positions more than Turkey’s.

Sergey Markedonov recollected the words of Turkish researcher Burcu
Gültekin, who said that Turkish policy is a hostage to relations with
Azerbaijan. `In her opinion, `opening of borders can make Armenians
see Turkey in a better light and bring the relations between the two
states out of today’s crisis.’ Actually, Baku receives an extra trump
card in its game in the South Caucasus. On one hand, a railroad will
bypass Armenia, on the other hand, Azerbaijan will tie Georgia’s hands
with a credit. Furthermore, neither Turkey nor the U.S. incumbent
administration will stand against. Thus, Russia’s rude and
shortsighted moves to hold Baku in check gave birth to new problems in
the South Caucasus,’ the Russian political scientist said.

In his opinion, it’s not surprising that Armenia tries to join the
Transcaspian gas pipeline. `Although Armenia is not included in the
list of constructors the aspiration of the republic to find
`insurance’ sources to symbolically come out of Russia’s energy
guardianship. Yerevan is tired of being hostage to Kremlin and Gazprom
and is not ready for the role of geopolitical infantry in combinations
against Tbilisi and Baku. Moscow needs serious reconsideration of its
policy of `energy imperialism’. This tool is not working well and no
one has been forced to knees so far. On the contrary, it attracted
`non-regional players’ and strengthened a pro-western tendency among
the post-soviet states,’ said Markedonov.