"EU would not confront Baku and Ankara for the sake of Yerevan" Foreign pundits talk to Caliber.Az

There are those in Europe who incite Armenian nationalism and revanchism, said Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Edmondo Cirielli in an interview with the Italian newspaper Formiche.

According to him, Europe and particularly Italy should make efforts to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

One wonders why there is so little understanding of Baku's position on Karabakh and Armenia in the West. After all, Cirielli is almost the only high-ranking government official in "old" Europe who has an absolutely adequate assessment of this situation. What is the matter here, what are the reasons?

Prominent foreign analysts agreed to share their vision of the situation with Caliber.Az.

Alexander Rahr, a German political scientist and professor at the WeltTrends Institute of International Politics (Potsdam), said that, frankly speaking, he does not see such a strong pro-Armenian lobby in the European Union itself.

"There are some voices, yes, but it cannot be said that they are really effective. On the contrary, I would say that now a lot is being done by the European Union to work with Azerbaijan in order to be able to get the necessary sources of energy from there - through Türkiye to Europe. Europe understands that this is very important for it," the professor said.

In parallel, attempts are even being made to pull Armenia out of Russia's orbit, out of the Eurasian Economic Union, and closer to the EU, he says.

"It is being done ineffectively so far, but the EU diplomacy is working on it. In principle, Brussels wants peace to be achieved between Baku and Yerevan, so now there is a consensus not to touch the status quo that has been formed between the sides. Especially since both Türkiye and Russia are involved in the reconciliation process. No one is trying to stir up the conflict anew and conflict with Türkiye in favour of Armenia (which is what some in the European Union used to do)," Rahr said. 

Anatoliy Pinchuk, head of the board of the Eastern Europe Security Institute (Kyiv), said in his turn that he does not assess the situation so pessimistically either.

"Yes, for some part of European politicians Azerbaijan's actions look somewhat defiant, but only from the point of view of interpreting what is compliance and what is violation of agreements. But not in terms of challenging Azerbaijan's legal rights to the territory of Karabakh.

There is a certain support for Armenia on the part of France due to their long-standing ties. But if Italy can become a certain counterweight to France in this matter, the situation will be completely balanced," the Ukrainian expert believes.