The Yerevan office of Rossotrudnichestvo distributed today the transcript of Andrey Sushentsov’s remarks at the Russian-Armenian University (RAU) on April 6 and his answers to questions.
According to it, in response to the question of RAU professor Azat Yeghiazaryan about Turkish-Armenian relations, Sushentsov said:
“Thanks for the direct question. I was hoping for such questions. If I may, I will ask a direct question in response. And which side was Armenia on during this crisis? Did you mobilize directly here in Armenia? Did the Armenian armed forces engage into this crisis? Were there waves of volunteers from Armenia as they were in the early 90s?
We in Russia followed the developments, and I assure you that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin dealt with Nagorno-Karabakh issue that November more than with any other issue like the Russian budget, etc. – first, in these telephone conversations, and second, with a demonstration of military determination to intervene. Watch the map of Russian military drills in the Caspian Sea and on the border with Azerbaijan all of this time.
In Moscow, many have a question: “What kind of limited war is this? If this is really a patriotic war for Armenia, then which side is Armenia on? I apologize for being frank, I understand that in the conditions of the conflict, during which several thousand young people died, this is a great trauma for the country, and this somehow brought it into a crisis, but we must, I think, be aware. What is at stake here? What are our interests? What resources are we prepared to protect? And in your question, I see an echo of the question that many others ask me – is it possible to make someone else, preferably more influential, solve our problem for us?
Should Russia solve the issue of delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan? Which border exactly (by the way, a question for Russian foreign policy), will we defend in the event of a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan and Armenia’s appeal to Russia (allied obligations, the CSTO or a bilateral military alliance) given that it is not demarcated?
It is not clear now who owns which village, there is no agreement. And this creates a very ambivalent situation. I would assure you that if Armenia fully participated in this crisis, and in case of threat to the Armenian statehood, Russia would not stand aside in any way.
The circumstance that the Russian paratroopers were in Karabakh within a few hours means that they were ready and stood prepared in Ulyanovsk. Were the paratroopers of France, Germany or any other country ready for a similar throw? Are the French ready to fly out immediately and protect the Armenians?”