First President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan published another article on ilur.am. The former head of state reminds that in his speeches, interviews and publications has repeatedly expressed the idea that “the key to the decision of the Karabakh problem is in the hands of Russia, and this thought was encountered at one time with a perplexity or indignation by political forces, experts and the current authorities “.
“The Caucasus was and remains a sphere of vital interests for Russia and naively believe that it will ever refuse to protect these interests. This means that the key to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, and why not Armenian-Turkish relations, Located in the hands of Russia. Therefore, regardless of its preferences, any government of Armenia should look for the solution of these vital problems in this geopolitical context. Such behavior is not connected with the desires, nor with orientation, but solely with the awareness of reality and the imperative of political realism. The authorities of Armenia, in my opinion, are not yet aware of this, “the president wrote.
According to his conviction, one of the main reasons for the tragedy in the Karabakh question is not awareness or ignoring this reality with two former and current authorities of Armenia. According to him, Turkey and Azerbaijan are more correctly assessed by reality, as evidenced by the recent active contacts of these countries with Russia.
“What I predicted in 1998 came true. In his speech at a meeting of the Security Council of Armenia, on January 8, I noted, in particular, the following:” I do not exclude, but on the contrary, I consider it quite natural and probable that, Given the problems of production of Caspian oil and the construction of oil pipelines, Russia will soon make serious efforts to establish normal relations with Azerbaijan, and in this case Armenia will lose the advantage of as the only ally and strategic partner of the Russian Federation in the Transcaucasia. “I think it is not difficult to present the consequences of a strategic partnership between Russia and Azerbaijan for Armenia and Karabakh, “writes an ex-president.
It can be concluded that the formation of a new Russian-Turkish-Azerbaijani format in the process of the Karabakh settlement becomes a fact. This does not mean that he will replace the co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, which, according to Ter-Petrosyan, will continue to continue, at least in order to create the impression of a combination of international efforts and not annoying the West.