168: Why is the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation actively involved in contacts between Armenia and Russia?

While the expert community is discussing Russia’s political passivity in the South Caucasus with varying intensity, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Galuzin meets from time to time with the ambassadors of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Russia. Galuzin had two meetings with the Armenian Ambassador to Russia Gurgen Arsenyan during the month of April.

The first is on April 10, to discuss high-level agreements after Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow, and the second is on April 20. According to the press release of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Galuzin discussed urgent issues of the bilateral agenda with the Armenian Ambassador to Moscow, Gurgen Arsenyan, in the context of the recent high-level contacts.

“A number of topical issues of bilateral relations were discussed in the light of the results of the recent Russian-Armenian high-level talks held in Moscow,” the Russian diplomatic agency noted.

Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, noted that during the meeting held on April 1, Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan’s contact was “useful, sincere and necessary”. the parties communicated to each other their positions on a wide range of topical issues on the bilateral agenda. However, according to the assessment of the expert community, it was one of the most tense Pashinyan-Putin meetings, during which the Russian president touched on the most sensitive issues of the bilateral agenda: the incompatibility of RA EU integration and EAEU, gas price, economic privileges due to RA EAEU membership, and internal political tension due to the Russian factor.

It became known yesterday that Galuzin met the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia Rahman Mustafaev. According to reports, the parties discussed the Azerbaijani-Russian relations during the meeting. “During the meeting, a number of urgent issues of bilateral relations were discussed,” the message says.

A few days ago, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, referring to the destruction of Armenian churches and cultural heritage in Artsakh, said that the tripartite agreements reached at a high level between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020-2022 also provided for a humanitarian direction of reconciliation.

“It includes the topics of return and exchange of all detained persons, caring for architectural monuments and memorials, exchange of information on profile structures and public organizations, as well as search for missing persons.

As it can be seen, the demand of society, both in Azerbaijan and in Armenia, regarding the solution of similar issues is relevant even today, and your question confirms this. Therefore, in case of appeal, we are ready to provide the necessary support to our partners,” Zakharova said, reconfirming the Russian proposal for mediation efforts.

168.amin a conversation with Russian analyst Fyodor Lukyanov said that Russia continues its political involvement in the South Caucasus as much as it is possible and the partner countries of the Russian Federation also need it. Naturally, according to him, during the period of changes, relations also change in a number of directions, their format and perception changes.

“As we can see, today in the relations between Russia and Armenia, the economic cooperation is in the foreground, which is centered around the Eurasian Economic Union. Thanks to EAEU membership and that cooperation, trade and economic ties have deepened over the years, Armenia’s economic indicators have changed, and the price of gas is significantly different from international prices.

Naturally, EU integration will disrupt Armenia’s progress in EAEU, whether it is good or bad will be evaluated in Armenia itself, but it is not possible to combine the two economic zones, everyone knows that. Armenia wants to maintain economic cooperation with Russia, and to deepen political cooperation with the West. How far it will be possible to continue this model, time and future geopolitical developments will show,” noted Lukianov.

As for the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister’s consultations with the ambassadors, the analyst believes that as a result of the changes in the relations, the contacts between the officials, the Foreign Ministers, are also changing. Therefore, contacts are being developed for the purpose of implementing agreements at lower levels, discussing the agenda and other issues,” the analyst said.

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