"Geopolitical prospects for the South Caucasus depend in many ways on the progress in both Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and Armenian-Turkish relations"

The transformation of the Caucasus region from one of periphery to one of the focal points of Eurasian, European, and Transatlantic security, as well as a the impact of the Russia-Georgia War on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, and the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement have been discussed at Woodrow Wilson Center, in Washington DC, October 3.

Sergey Markedonov, Visiting Fellow on Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, mentioned that although there have been no obvious breakthroughs, the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process in itself can be seen as positive.

The analyst believes that the normalization of Armenian-Turkish Relations “is already in the past and in the future”.

In the meanwhile, he adds, geopolitical prospects for the South Caucasus depend in many ways on the progress in both Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and Armenian-Turkish relations.

“In the face of possible threats, the settlement of both conflicts would allow the sides to focus on resolving crises and risks and preventing new ones”, he added.

Speaking about the Russia’s desire for playing an exclusive role in Caucasus geopolitics, he mentioned, it will be much more productive for Moscow to act based on the situation and not sticking to one plan, maintaining the status quo where it is convenient and breaking it where there is no alternative.


/APA/