Baku, Azerbaijan, April 23
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Russia had better to bet on Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, including in the issue of resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under conditions of Armenia's possible coming under influence of the US and its transformation into an extremely unreliable ally, Director of the Institute for Political Studies, Russian president’s confidant Sergey Markov told Trend.
He made the remarks commenting on Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan's resignation on April 23 amid the continuing rallies in the country.
Markov said the departure of Serzh Sargsyan and the Karabakh clan will seriously impact resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but it is not yet clear how.
"The matter is that it is not only Sargsyan's removal, it is the victory of the pro-American, Armenian 'maidan'. Nikol Pashinyan [leader of the protest rallies in Armenia] heads the "Elk", which in Armenian means 'Exit'. He repeatedly said that Armenia should withdraw from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). However, it is unlikely that Armenia can start withdrawing from the EEU, which it did not completely join," he said.
According to Markov, clashes may begin in Armenia, since it is not yet known how peaceful this coup will end. "However, the Karabakh clan's removal from the power gives Azerbaijan a serious chance in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."
"Not all Armenians want to continue suffering in the blockade due to, particularly, keeping under occupation the regions around Nagorno-Karabakh, and not returning them to Azerbaijan. Therefore, possibility of a peaceful resolution on the basis of the Kazan formula, under which areas around Nagorno-Karabakh are returned [to Azerbaijan], and Armenia's blockade is removed in response, increases," Markov said.
As for the change in the socio-economic and political course of Armenia amid the changes in the country's leadership, Markov said he does not view the leaders of the protest movement as independent.
"They are sufficiently pro-American, and their main task will be to separate Armenia from Russia and redirect organizations such as the Dashnaktsutyun, which is widely known in the history for their terrorist acts, against Russia. And pro-American occupation regimes will always find something to tell to convince the people," he said.
Mass rallies broke out in Yerevan and other Armenian cities on April 13 following former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s nomination as prime minister. The opposition accused him of ineffective governance and worsening the economic situation in the country.
On April 23, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan resigned.
