The situation in the South Caucasus is very unstable, it is an unstable balance, at the verge of war and peace, which cannot last long, Chief of the Department of CIS Countries of the Russian Institute of Strategic Research, Candidate of Historical Sciences Alexander Skakov said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net. In his words, there is some military and economic balance between the countries of the region, as well as inability of basic players - world and regional superpowers - to pursue their own policy, not looking back at the partners. "Owing to these factors and inertia stability, there is still peace in the region. Unfortunately, this "suspended" state cannot be eternal, especially that it does not fit some people any more, for example Georgia, Azerbaijan, the US and EU. To the contrary, Armenia, Russia, Iran, Turkey, unrecognized states of the region are interested in preserving the status-quo," he remarked.

"The powers wanting "unfreezing" of the region are rather influential and their actions are becoming more and more persistent. It would be a mistake to consider that it is possible "to unfreeze" conflicts and sustain regional stability. "Unfreezing" of the Karabakh conflict is inevitable, irrespective of the outcome. It will aggravate Armenian-Azeri relations, while unfreezing of the Georgian-Abkhaz or Georgian-Ossetian conflicts not only threatens further complication of Russian-Georgian relations, but will also ricochet other countries of the region. "Unfreezing" is inevitable, moreover is it likely and one should prepare to it," the Russian politician said.

Full text of the interview