“While extending its military reach, Moscow is simultaneously trying to assume the role of primary mediator in the territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
That’s not to say Moscow is intent on resolving the conflict,” Ariel Cohen, senior research fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy at the Heritage Foundation, says in his article published in The Wall Street Journal.
Commenting on the recent processes in the region, Ariel Cohen says while the Obama administration praises soft power, Russia still speaks the language of arms.
“In the past two years it has built five military bases in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Later this month, during President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Yerevan, Moscow will provide military guarantees to Armenia, assuming a "joint" responsibility to protect the country’s borders against Azerbaijan and Turkey. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has prepared a draft protocol for President Medvedev’s signature that would commit Russia’s troops at its military base near the Armenian city of Gyumri to the country’s defense and sell advanced weapons to Yerevan. Baku and Ankara must be livid.
While the previous contract called for the Gyumri base to be dismantled in 2015, the new protocol will allow Russia to stay there until 2049.
Russia’s pledge to defend Armenia puts Azerbaijan in an untenable situation. It’s a clear warning against any Azeri attempt to regain the secessionist Nagorno-Karabakh region or its seven Armenian-occupied districts. The subtext is clear as well: Azerbaijan should scale back cooperation with the West or face the consequences.”
Meanwhile, Washington seems content with preaching the importance of "soft power." Its pseudo-Realpolitik approach of "seeing no evil" only encourages Moscow to expand its hegemony.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
