Armenia's place in NATO-Russia relations (video)
Relations between Russian and NATO ‘will continue to remain unfriendly’ after the NATO summit in Warsaw, political analyst Stepan Safaryan told A1+. “The decisions adopted by NATO and deployment of military contingent on the border with Russia remain unacceptable for Russia. Russia’s stance on the issue remains uncompromising. Likewise, NATO’s policy towards Russia’s demands remains unyielding,” he said. The political analyst does not expect a big clash between the two geopolitical poles but if the military balance is changed both sides will try to show their power through their actions. “The closer Georgia’s integration into NATO gets, the more aggressive Russia will become in its actions in the South Caucasus, specifically towards Georgia and the NATO bloc members. Armenia together with Russia is on the other side of the trenches and this is a potential challenge for us," Mr. Safaryan said. Experts do not rule out that Russia may exert pressure on Armenia in order to exclude the extension of the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO. Eduard Sharmazanov, Spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, does not expect such a development. “I think you did not understand such a thing from the president’s speech.” Among other issues, the NATO summit also addressed the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on the conflicting parties to refrain from using force and find a peaceful solution to the conflict. “NATO seems to be questioning the issue of preserving the OSCE Minsk Group. Azerbaijan hopes this fragment will stop existing and relies on NATO or its member states to justify its hopes by some venture,” said Mr Safaryan. On July 9, participating in the meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the NATO member and non-member states dedicated to the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, Serzh Sargsyan said ‘the status quo will change when the people of Nagorno Karabakh will received the opportunity to exercise their right of self-determination.’
