Likelihood of military actions in Nagorno Karabakh has decreased with
resumption of the negotiations for peaceful resolution of the conflict, says
Gagik Haroutiunyan, the head of Noravank Scientific and Educational Foundation.
Talking to reporters, Thursday, Haroutiunyan said that
Baku is in panic over Iran's gradually increasing role and Turkey's diminishing
influence in the region.
"Furthermore, Armenia's decision to accession the
Customs Union was something like a wake-up call for Azerbaijan. The leadership
of that country realized that the Armenian-Russian relations will now attain a
new quality creating serious obstacles to their adventurism," he said. The
expert believes that the Russian military base in Armenia is another
restraining factor for Azerbaijan.
Meanwhile, Manvel Sargsyan, Director of the Armenian
Center for National and International Studies, does not share Haroutiunyan's
views. He thinks that the Russian military base in Armenia looks to control the
country from inside rather than protect the territory of Armenia in case of an
armed conflict.
"Russia is well aware that its role in the region
will diminish in case of normalization of Iran-USA relations and tries to
develop its relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey, which is not in favor of
Armenia. In the light of these 'rapprochement' Russia has already sold a solid
amount of weapons to Azerbaijan," he said.
Sargsyan calls the
anti-Russian hysteria in Armenia infantile, as Yerevan needs to develop
cooperation with any country that is ready to cooperate with Armenia.