"Pro-Armenian lobbyist Tolstoy's anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric contradicts the Kremlin's official position" Expert Darya Grevtsova talks to Caliber.Az

Everything is moving towards the point where the Russian political field will finally turn into a springboard for the promotion of Armenian interests and, on the contrary, a pile of obstacles for the development of relations with Azerbaijan and the stabilisation of the entire South Caucasus.

All this is evident from the statements of such Kremlin mouthpieces as Zatulin, Delyagin, Solovyov and others, whose vocal company was joined by former TV journalist and current Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Petr Tolstoy, who allowed himself to make provocative statements about Azerbaijan and, at the same time, Ukraine.

For some reason, however, he attached Armenia to them. Apparently, in order to hide his sympathies and antipathies for the time being.

The Russian politician tried to point out in a rather harsh manner to these states that their sovereignty is formal, but in reality, they are dependent on Moscow. Moreover, Tolstoy hinted quite transparently that Russia has not abandoned its centuries-old policy of "pacification and restoring order," which it is now implementing in Ukraine, and can use it at any time in relation to any former Soviet republic.

"Russia has the position of a leading world power, on which those countries that used to be part of it have depended and will continue to depend," the Duma deputy speaker said, making no secret of his imperial ambitions.

According to Tolstoy, "Azerbaijan, Armenia and Ukraine at some point decided that they have the opportunity to orient themselves towards some other geopolitical vector, but economically, politically, geographically and historically there is no other orientation for these countries except for Russia.... Russia is pursuing a policy of pacification and bringing order to these territories."

Is this a threat, not from Tolstoy personally, but from the Russian state?  There is no need to guess - the politician was not lazy to shed light on his own rhetoric, saying that "without Russia neither Armenia, nor Azerbaijan, nor Nagorno-Karabakh, nor Ukraine will exist. This is what is important. And everything else, based on this understanding, will get better". That is, measures will be taken, and tough ones at that….

And then more. And he is not hiding whose side he is on. Speaking about Karabakh, the Russian politician emphasises that in this issue Moscow has to take into account the attitude to the problem of all sides of the conflict: Yerevan has one position, Stepanakert (Khankandi) - another, Baku - a third.

It is probably unnecessary to say that there is an exclusively pro-Armenian position. But he knows very well that the negotiations are held between Baku and Yerevan, and the long-standing desire to squeeze separatists into the negotiations is an end in itself of the Armenian side, with which Baku categorically and legally disagrees.

Meanwhile, the provocative statement of the Russian MP makes one doubt Moscow's declared position on the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

Is peace in the region in fact desirable for Moscow, is its attitude to the parties to the conflict really the same and does it wish both sides well? And finally, do we really have friendly relations, and is the Declaration of Allied Cooperation signed by Azerbaijan and Russia the foundation on which they rest?

It should be recognised that Tolstoy's attack on Baku is far from being the only one. Moreover, the Russian MP’s rhetoric towards Azerbaijan changed dramatically after Armenia's defeat in the 44-day war in Karabakh, which leaves no doubt that he was influenced by the Armenian lobby, which has close ties in the structures and state bodies of Russia.

Commenting on Tolstoy's anti-Azerbaijani statements to Caliber.Az, Russian expert, deputy director of the Institute for Political Studies Darya Grevtsova confirmed the fact of the Armenian lobby's activity in the Russian information-political field and its close contacts with Russian Duma deputies.
"In the State Duma, as well as in other Russian structures, the Armenian lobby is active, which builds relationships with MPs and other political figures who voice provocative statements against Azerbaijan. Peter Tolstoy has been connected with the Armenian lobby since the time of his work on television.

Even then, there were persons of Armenian nationality in his entourage, with whom he is friends or has financial relations, and now, having become an MP, he publicly broadcasts their position.

However, I can say with certainty that he voiced only his own point of view, which has nothing to do with the state policy of Russia. Tolstoy's rhetoric on Karabakh is pure propaganda of an Armenian lobbyist, which contradicts Moscow's official position," Grevtsova said, adding that the provocative statements of the Russian MP are aimed at splitting Azerbaijan and Russia.