It is Moscow’s desire to show who the main player in the region is that accounts for RF State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov’s statement on a possible solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the near future, Heritage parliamentary faction Secretary Larisa Alaverdyan told NEWS.am.
The reason for Russia’s desire to emphasize its role in the South Caucasus is Turkey’s becoming increasing active in the region recently. “Russia will never agree to share its dominant role in the region, particularly in the Karabakh conflict, with a third country,” she said.
Manvel Sargsyan, an expert for the Armenian Center for National and International Studies, stressed that Gryzlov’s statement can be considered in the context of an agreement reached between Moscow and Ankara during the recent mutual visits by the two states’ leaders.
“Over the last month, Russia’s position on Nagorno-Karabakh has been hard to explain. Many questions have arisen which have never been answered,” the expert said. RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s Brussels address to NATO to step up efforts in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is indirect evidence Russia and Turkey consider the peace process in the context of their bilateral relations.”The reason for Serzh Sargsyan’s must have been his forecasts concerning the plans of Ankara and Moscow,” the expert said.
During his recent visit to Yerevan, Speaker of the RF State Duma Boris Gryzlov stated specific decisions concerning the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be made in the near future.
He stressed that clear steps are being made and prerequisites for decisions concerning the settlement are available. It is natural to discuss the NKR’s status during the talks, Gryzlov said. He stressed that the issue of territories controlled by the Armenian side is being discussed as well.
