“Moscow has no interest and intention to be involved in the implementation of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia”, said Taras Kuzio in his comments to Ednews.

He has also touched on the current processes in the South Caucasus, including the critical strategic aspects of the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process.

First of all, Taras Kuzio has talked about the activities of Moscow and Brussels formats mediating in the negotiations over the normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan.

“I think that Moscow and Brussels are potential mediators of undertaking peace process in the region. There is no third way. The OSCE Minsk Group, which has mediated in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Karabakh for three decades, is now defunct. In reality Azerbaijan does not want its revival. Main reason for that is a partial policy of France. The government of France has never shown itself to be objective country and taken side by Armenia.  As for looking through which kind of mediator is useful in this process, I think that European Union could provide a road map for the acceleration of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. EU does not have any geopolitical tendency supporting one side in the conflict. If we talk honestly, Brussels has desire to ensure some kind of peace and stability in the region. However, Moscow does not like EU’s attempts towards the restoration of peace in the South Caucasus. For Russia, it is important to sustain frozen conflicts and cause challenges to any peace process in order to maintain its geostrategic and imperialistic influence in the post-soviet region”.

According to British expert, Russian Peacekeeping forces in Karabakh, as well as in the South Ossetia of Georgia and Transnistria of Moldova are main military bases serving the geostrategic interests of Russia.

“They are trying to indicate that these regions are under the influence of Russia. Under the leadership of both Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin Kremlin is always against the use of UN Peacekeeping Forces in Eurasian region. Russia is not interested in ending conflict in Karabakh, because the solution of all problems between Azerbaijani and Armenian communities will bring about the end of so-called mandate of Russian peacekeepers. We have observed such cases in Georgia and Moldova for thirty years”.

Commenting on the role of new Armenia figure, Ruben Vardanyan in the administration of the separatist regime in the areas under the temporary control of Russian peacekeepers, he noted that Vardanyan was a project of Kremlin to strengthen Russian influence in Karabakh and thwart EU’s attempts towards restoring peace in the region.

Taras Kuzio also added that Prime Minister Nikol Pahsinyan has no courage to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan.

“Pashinyan is obviously afraid of the radical nationalist minorities. However, the silent majority, who supported Pashinyan in the last elections, are in favor of peace. There is also one serious problem in the Armenian society that the Armenian government and political circles believe that Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh will be forever. They should keep themselves from such fantasies”.

In the end, Taras Kuzio expressed his opinion on the possibility on whether Washington will engage in the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process in the near future.

“The attention of the United States is now mainly focused on relations with China, the political situation in the region of South-east Asia, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine. The only way of the United States is to support EU brokered mediation in the negotiations over the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. At the same time, in this issue, we should take into account the Armenian lobby in the US and anti-Turkish policy of the Biden administration”.

By Yunis Abdullayev