Pundit: Armenia cannot escape from Russia

Russia is not abandoning the South Caucasus region; rather, it is reformulating its presence there, according to political scientist Vigen Akopyan.

Akopyan noted that Russia has significantly improved its relations with Azerbaijan, elevating them to a partnership level, and a formal agreement on a strategic alliance has been established, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

“Russia’s relations with Georgia are also progressing towards practical settlement, at least with the current Georgian administration. I believe that Russia is doing everything to ensure that the current ruling team in Georgia wins the upcoming challenging electoral processes. Against this backdrop, discussions about Russia's desire to leave the region are unfounded,” he remarked.

Regarding Armenia, Akopyan noted that Russia is facing certain challenges with the current ruling team.

“Right now, Russia is playing a game of 'let's pretend' with Armenia, creating an alibi for explaining the reasons behind the reformatting of its positions in the region. Russia is exploiting the actions and mistakes of Pashinyan to strengthen its positions in Azerbaijan,” Akopyan believes.

He further pointed out that Russia is confident that, with the strengthening of the configuration it aims for—namely a friendly Azerbaijan and a compliant Georgia—Armenia will find itself isolated with its pro-Western orientation.

“Moreover, the foreign policy priorities of Iran are well known, and Armenia's relations with Türkiye remain unestablished. Therefore, Russia may consider that under these circumstances, ‘Armenia will not go anywhere,’” he added, also highlighting the unprecedented increase in Armenia's economic dependence on Russia.

By Aghakazim Guliyev