Radar Armenia’s interlocutor is international expert Shahan Gandaharian.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Armenia. In your opinion, what was the central message of Lavrov's visit?
I think the most fundamental message is Russia's guarantee of Armenia's territorial integrity and sovereignty and the unblocking of communication routes. Here is an attempt to reactivate point 9 of the November statement. Moscow is ready to monitor the security of the roads to be unblocked.
- He spoke about the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. Is Russia interested in settling the conflict?
The most interesting section concerns the function of controlling the Syunik Bridge. This concerns not only the Nakhichevan-Azerbaijan connection but also the prospect of unblocking Iran. Moscow wants its forces to control the Iran-West land bridge. Of course, geopolitical obstacles exist to ensure this function.
The Turkish president also discussed resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, saying that peace between the two countries would open up many opportunities. Is Turkey interested in resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict?
- This is another reference by the Turkish president, without any practical steps. The processes continue to remain interconnected. If this were a priority issue for Turkey, there would be pressure on Baku. Here, Aliyev assumes the role of the "elder brother," and everything is determined by the rules he has specified. The problem is more global and is related to counterbalancing the Russian factor. Regardless of Baku's conditions, Ankara will be forced to open the border when the time comes. That time has not yet come.
- One of the crucial events of the past week was the Putin-Trump phone conversation. How would you comment on that phone conversation and the events that followed when the Russian president also commented on the provisions of the peace treaty memorandum?
- The Putin-Trump phone conversations will still have their ups and downs. Ukrainian trade is ongoing; this does not necessarily mean that there will be a ceasefire. There will be stops, suspensions, flare-ups. Trade will not be easy. There is still no agreement on even a temporary truce. Pressure, threats, phone conversations - these are the rules of the game based on which the negotiations are taking place. American pressure towards a ceasefire does not mean, on the one hand, not supporting Ukraine and, on the other hand, lifting the sanctions against Russia.
Arman Galoyan
