ArmInfo.Despite the current involvement in Ukrainian affairs, Russia, without a doubt, is not going to and will not easily cede its own positions in the South Caucasus to the West. International expert Suren Sargsyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
"Even a possible tactical retreat of Moscow does not mean its final withdrawal from the region. I think that this is well understood in the West as well. Brussels and Washington realize that the current Moscow's concessions as a result of their consolidated pressure will be accompanied by attempts to increase involvement in Caucasian affairs in the future," the expert forecasts.
According to Sargsyan, the activation of the processes of settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani developments in Brussels, takes place in the conditions of the active assistance of Washington. And Brussels, in fact, is a process to circumvent the Minsk process, due to its current incapacity. The main reason for this is the lack of consensus between the United States and France on the one hand and the Russian Federation on the other. The latter, in his opinion, gives rise to the need to oust the Russian Federation from the negotiations by creating a new negotiating format, and not ousting the Russian Federation from the existing format.
According to the expert, the abovementioned geopolitical processes are unfolding at an amazing speed, in which, according to his estimates, many of their direct participants are interested. First of all, Baku's interests require it. The collective West is striving to minimise Russian influence in the region as soon as possible, using the opportunities that are available so far for this, in particular, Ukraine.
"This is the strategy of Brussels and Washington, through which they are trying, if not to completely oust Russia from the South Caucasus, then at least minimise its presence, using Moscow's involvement in Ukrainian affairs. And it seems that Armenia is also showing urgency in all these processes and the whole question is whether Yerevan does it on its own or under pressure. And given the serious pressure on Armenia by almost all the players, I do not rule out the second version at all," the international specialist summed up.