Expert: Azerbaijan Is Neither Pro-Russian Nor Pro-American, It Is Pr

EXPERT: AZERBAIJAN IS NEITHER PRO-RUSSIAN NOR PRO-AMERICAN, IT IS PRO- AZERI

by David Stepanyan

Monday, July 15, 18:26

NATO will be able to expand into the post-Soviet area only if Russia
faces a total collapse. Otherwise, I see no way for NATO to do it,
Sergey Markedonov, visiting researcher at the Washington Center
for Strategic and International Studies, said during an online
press-conference on Monday.

According to Markedonov, the willingness of Azerbaijan, Georgia or
Ukraine is not decisive here. “This is not as easy as it may seem.

NATO is not a monolith. The positions of France and Germany are much
different from the position of the United States. The same is true
for the post-Soviet republics – each of them has a different attitude
towards its possible membership to NATO,” the expert said.

When asked if Azerbaijan is pro-Western or not, Markedonov said that
today there is no more cold war. “The contradictions between Russia
and the United States are just a clash of interests rather than a
conflict of ideologies. So, there is no need for a final choice between
them. Today, Azerbaijan is neither pro-Russian nor pro-American,
it is pro- Azeri. The same is true for Armenia. The only exception
was Saakashvili’s pro-American Georgia. All the other countries are
trying to find a balance in their relations,” Markedonov said.

Markedonov’s press-conference was part of a project carried out by
Region Research Center (Armenia) and Peace and Democracy Institute
(Azerbaijan) with the support of the British embassies in Armenia
and Azerbaijan with a view to expand knowledge of Armenians and
Azerbaijani about each other and to build confidence through first-hand
information.