May 31, 2006 - 14:33 AMT
Yunusov: After Conflict Settlement Russia Will Be Forced out of South Caucasus
The Russian leadership and experts say Russia is not interested in frozen conflicts, head of the Department of Conflictology at the Baku Institute of Peace and Democracy, political scientist Arif Yunusov stated. "In some cases I believe in sincerity of such statements but unfortunately the line pursued by the Russian leadership proves the opposite," he remarked.

In Yunusov's words, geopolitical confrontation has developed in the post-soviet space between the western states, first of all the United States, and Russia. "Russia understand perfectly that after the settlement of conflicts, for example the Nagorno Karabakh one, Russia will be forced out of the region. It's not a secret. Russia doesn't possess sufficient fund to counteract these plans. Even if it possessed such, it lacks understanding of the necessity of spending funds for strengthening its influence in the post-soviet republics, the Azeri political scientist emphasized.

Yunusov is convinced that the soviet standpoint on the post-soviet republics reigns in Russia while the frozen conflicts, including the Nagorno Karabakh one, are an excellent factor for Russia for maintaining influence until it becomes strong enough to re-boost its influence in the post-soviet space, reported Day.az.