It is not necessary to know the essence of the Karabakh talks to understand that Moscow is doing its best not to have the conflict settled, and through packages which are unlikely to be implemented, American political analyst Paul Goble told 168Zham newspaper.
The analyst claims Russia has the following principle when dealing with the region: Georgia is a road, Armenia is a tool, while Azerbaijan is a gift. However, the analyst believes, that the conflicting parties can change this principle by changing their policy, and Russia will have to review its calculations. He believes Russia’s goal is to expand its influence in the South Caucasus, and this is the reason Russia is trying to privatize the Karabakh settlement.
Goble said it is not a mere coincidence that Russian Foreign Minister spoke about Azerbaijan’s constructive position in December and urged Armenia to negotiate, it was not a mere coincidence that the Vienna agreements are left out from the negotiation table.
He believes that the previous attempts to offer packages to the parties will continue under the new Armenian government.