“Moscow has used the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh to pressure both sides, maintain Armenia as an ally, and otherwise exercise regional influence”, -said Jim Nichol, American Specialist on Russian and Eurasian Affairs in the US Congressional Research Service’s last report on “Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and US Interests” issue, APA’s Washington DC correspondent has learned.
The author reminds that, at the July 2009 summit, President Obama and Russian leaders discussed the frozen conflicts in South Caucasus, including Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, and agreed to continue cooperative efforts to resolve the conflict.
Washington considers that the Russian idea of a “sphere of influence” in the Soviet successor states does not belong in the 21st century. “The two presidents did agree, however, that “no one has an interest in renewed military conflict.”
The analyst reminded that, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the turmoil associated with the Yeltsin period, a consensus emerged as the Putin era began on reestablishing Russia’s global prestige as a “great power” and its dominance in “the former Soviet space.”
“The pursuit of these goals by then-President Putin and his closest policy advisors seemed to be driven by the belief that the West, and in particular the United States, had taken advantage of Russia’s political turmoil and overall weakness during the Yeltsin years. Putin and his advisors were determined to restore what they believed to be Russia’s rightful place as a significant influence on the world stage” the report says.
The author also stated that, one of the Russia’s instruments on that region is energy pipelines. “Those concerned about the possible consequences of overdependence on Russia for energy have called for the building of pipelines circumventing Russian territory that would transport non- Russian gas supplies to Europe. The EU is supporting the creation of the Nabucco pipeline, which could have a capacity of 31 bcm per year. It would get its supplies from Azerbaijan and perhaps Turkmenistan through pipelines in Georgia and Turkey. Nabucco received a boost in July 2009, when Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on the project. It is hoped that work on the pipeline could begin in 2012, with the first gas supplies available by 2015 and full capacity reached in 2019. While denying that Nabucco and South Stream are conflicting projects, Russian officials have cast doubt on Nabucco’s prospects, claiming that the gas supplies for such a pipeline may be difficult to find. Russia has attempted to buy up gas supplies in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, in what some analysts view as an attempt to undermine Nabucco. In order to build political support for South Stream, Russia has tried to entice key western European companies to participate in the project. It has also discussed the possibility of changing the route for the pipeline in order to play potential transit countries off against each other”.
In the end, the analyst however mentioned that, according to some Russian public opinion polls, popular attitudes toward the United States have improved in recent months.
Isabel Levine – APA
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