Armenia could make better use of strategic relations with Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - In addition to numerous examples of open military-political and economic support of Turkey to Azerbaijan, we once again witnessed a classic example of the strategic relationships between the two countries, Eduard Abrahamyan, chairman of Neo-conservative Movement of Armenia told PanARMENIAN.Net

Even after the signing of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols, which openly not demonstrate any coherence between the Armenian-Turkish relations improvement and the Karabakh conflict settlement, Turkey continues to insist that without the Karabakh conflict resolution neither diplomatic relations with Armenia can be established and nor the border can open.



"We understand the desire of Moscow to avoid any accusation of using a gas lever for political purposes, but it could state without damaging its reputation, that taking into account of the bilateral blockade of its strategic partner, it decided to make major concessions related to gas prices for Armenia, " Mr. Abrahamyan said.



According to him, the Armenian authorities have not used all the ways to convince Moscow at least to slightly increase gas rates.



Protocols on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations have been signed on October 10, 2009 in Zurich by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey, Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu in the presence of the foreign ministers of France, the United States, Russia and Switzerland after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation since 2007. According to the Protocols, diplomatic relations should be established between the two countries and the mutual border, closed by Turkey since 1993, should be opened. On January 12, 2010 Armenian Constitutional Court acknowledged the constituency of the Protocols.



Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh Republic) (NKR) is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west. After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923 it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.