MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/. A number of Western states seek to weaken Russia’s position in Armenia, taking advantage of the escalation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, says Vladimir Yevseyev, head of the Caucasus division at the Institute of CIS Studies.

According to the expert, Armenia, who calls on Moscow to provide support to Yerevan, "seeks to shift all responsibility on Russia, which [from Armenia’s standpoint] must ensure their territorial integrity for them."

He noted that a number of politicians in Yerevan stated that failing to provide such aid may affect the Russian-Armenian relations negatively.

"I would not rule out that this kind of action was initiated by certain foreign states. The interference is obvious here. I would name the US, France and the UK among the countries that interfere in the affairs of the Republic of Armenia. [These states] seek to weaken the Russia’s presence in Armenia, force Russia to abandon Armenia completely. It is in their interests to show that Russia does not aid Armenia," he said.

Meanwhile, according to the expert, the US and France, being co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, are interested in a settlement of the situation in the Region, but they also seek to worsen Yerevan’s relations with Moscow.

"There is a certain coincidence of positions on Nagorno-Karabakh, but there’s also grudge against Russia, because Russian peacekeepers have been deployed there, but no French or American ones," Yevseyev said.