Effectiveness of Western efforts in South Caucasus may depend on Azerbaijan Russian pundit says

Russian political scientist Fyodor Lukyanov has said that the effectiveness of Western efforts in the South Caucasus may depend on Azerbaijan.

"The US has recently taken a somewhat pro-Armenian stance, making statements because Armenia has politically distanced itself from Russia, there are problems between the sides, a great lack of mutual understanding. The West has to somehow show that this policy makes sense for Armenia, that it will bring dividends." Lukyanov said in his interview with Armenian media as he commented on O’Brien’s visit to Baku, Caliber.Az reports.

"What this will achieve is doubtful, since, apart from statements, no other serious steps on the part of the US are noticeable. Of the West, only France is trying to do something by supplying weapons and showing that it also cares about Armenia's security. However, this is also an underdeveloped situation that is not a true alliance for a country that has faced serious security and political problems. The visit of the US Assistant Secretary of State to Baku shows the effect of harsh statements against Baku and the West's attempts to correct them. And that’s because in this geopolitical situation the price of Azerbaijan as a South Caucasus country, which itself has become part of this geopolitical competition, is high, and the effectiveness of the West's efforts in the South Caucasus may depend on Azerbaijan's decision. Therefore, after a number of harsh statements, we see that either O'Brien's accents changed in subsequent statements, or Blinken organised a telephone conversation and a visit of the Assistant Secretary of State to Baku to rectify the situation.

The US visit is aimed at eliminating all the problems that could prevent Baku from negotiating with the West. The US will try to eliminate these reasons and immediately come forward with its proposal, accelerate the processes and bring the region under its influence. Azerbaijan realises that they are betting on Armenia, and the current US diplomatic efforts are aimed at engaging Azerbaijan to achieve this goal, so Azerbaijan will not be in a hurry to decide on cooperation with the US," the political scientist added.