Does Pashinyan Have Any Concern Connected With Moscow?

• 07.24.2018, 12:16
• Anna Karapetyan
•  "Insight" Analytical Center ,  NKR,  Analytics

During a press conference in Yerevan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan touched upon the Karabakh conflict along with many other issues. The Prime Minister stated several important theses, which may be the basis for promoting the negotiation process. In particular, Pashinyan expressed his readiness to negotiate with Aliyev and attached special importance to the formation of an appropriate atmosphere for peaceful settlement, i.e. the implementation of confidence-building measures and excluding rough rhetoric.

In this context, Nikol Pashinyan's reference is also about the threat of war resumption. He noted that there is always danger of war and the Armenian people should always be ready for it. However, the most remarkable statements were that Russia has the ability to prevent war resumption and, naturally, as Armenia's strategic ally, it will do its best to prevent possible provocation of Azerbaijan.

The Russian Federation is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group and has been working with the US and France for many years to promote peace in the region and to advance the conflict settlement process. Pashinyan's statement not only highlights the importance of strategic allied relations with Russia, first of all on security issues, but also emphasizes and dramatically increases Russia's role in the Karabakh settlement process. This way, the Prime Minister stresses Moscow's responsibility for peace in the region.

With this statement, Nikol Pashinyan also points out to Azerbaijan that any provocation against Armenia and Artsakh can also be viewed as a step against Russia, which is unlikely to be favorable for Baku.
Can Pashinyan's statement be regarded as an expression of concern over Azerbaijan's possible intention and Russia's possible reaction? In any case, the Republic of Armenia has always relied on its own army's readiness and spirit of the people, which once again demonstrated its power and ability in 2016 during the April War.