ArmInfo. Moscow is seeking parity in its relations with Yerevan and Baku. Evidence thereof is the Declaration on Allied Relations recently signed by Russia and Azerbaijan, Russian political scientist Andrey Areshev said in an interview with ArmInfo.
The declaration was signed in Moscow on February 22. Some of its 44 points deal with the bilateral military cooperation.
“I see the motive behind the signed document, namely, Russia’s desire to maintain equally close and mutually beneficial relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. And the practically identical documents on Russian-Armenian alliance and now on Russian-Azerbaijani alliance form the necessary legal basis for that. And the declaration signed in Moscow enables Russia to successfully maintain parity in its military and technical cooperation with both the states as well,” he said.
According to Mr Areshev, Russia will seek to make Azerbaijan increasingly dependent by supplying spare parts for the weapons Azerbaijan once purchased from it and by ensuring regular maintenance. On the other hand, by actively and consistently upgrading Armenia’s armed forces, Russia will continue its own policy of maintaining parity between the two parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict over the last to decades.
In the context of the willingness for peace stated by Armenia’s ruling force, Mr Areshev does not expect Yerevan to express its discontent with the Russian-Azerbaijani relations reaching a new level. On the other hand, at lower levels negative opinions can and will be voiced. The expert is sure that Baku coordinated the signing of the Azerbaijan-Russian declaration with Ankara.
In this context, Mr Areshev highlights the importance of the declaration for Azerbaijan as an element of balance with its close ties with Turkey. Since the Shushi Declaration was signed the need for Baku to diversify its relations with Turkey in the context of its relations with the other centers of power, in particular with Russia, has become increasingly urgent. And the current political turbulence in the South Caucasus and Black Sea region only corroborates it.
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