“Russia won’t act against Azerbaijan”
"Russia has started to realize the significance of cooperation with Azerbaijan," said today editor-in-chief of the "Russia in Global Politics" magazine Fyodor Lukyanov during the "Caucasus-2010" international conference in Yerevan.
"Russia can't and won't act against Azerbaijan. God forbid Russia face a choice in terms of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," said Lukyanov.
According to him, Russia can't have one type of policy in the Caucasus due to its ongoing tense relations with Georgia.
"Russia is strengthening relations with Armenia and proof of that is the extension of the presence of military bases in Armenia. Russia is already present in Armenia," said Fyodor Lukyanov.
He also mentioned that Russia has the desire to increase the role of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which should defend the region.
Participating in the "Caucasus-2010" conference organized by the Caucasus Institute are representatives and analysts from Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and European organizations.
Turkey's representative, TESEV program coordinator Aybars Gyorgyulu mentioned that Armenia is the only country of the region that lacks diplomatic relations with Turkey.
"The current relations with Armenia complicate Turkey's relations with the West, especially due to the pressures against Turkey every April 24th. Armenians try to do that through the U.S. President, expecting him to pronounce the word "genocide"," said Gyorgyulu.
The Turkish expert also attached importance to the restart of the signing of the Protocols, which will establish relations between the neighboring countries. According to him, this process is not "dead", but frozen.
The conference participants also addressed current issues in the Caucasus and especially focused on political, social and economic developments; ethno-political conflicts; the role of foreign role-players and regional security.
The conference is part of the EU-funded program called "Enlargement of the Potential of Political Debates in Armenia".
