Further decrease in the level of political dialogue between Armenia and Russia and minimization of cooperation in the security sphere will also negatively affect economic relations, which are currently experiencing unprecedented growth. Vyacheslav Sutyrin, a Russian political scientist, head of the Center for Academic Diplomacy and Advanced Academic Initiatives at MGIMO, expressed such an opinion to Sputnik Armenia.
Record volumes of trade turnover between the two countries are recorded against the backdrop of noticeable cooling of political relations and mutual accusations. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is particularly active in this, accusing Russia and the CSTO of failing to fulfill their allied obligations, and separately accusing the organization of creating threats to Armenia's security. At the same time, Pashinyan declares that the “point of no return” in relations with the CSTO has passed.
Although the economy itself is a normal healthy priority in interstate relations, and membership in the EAEU provides Armenia with enormous benefits, however, in Sutyrin's opinion, Yerevan's recent rhetoric, including its position on the CSTO, is not at all conducive to further strengthening of relations. And a certain decoupling can be observed in this regard.
“Economic relations are also based on trust, on a strategic security contour. And this contour cannot be minimized, overshadowed, or pretended not to exist, while at the same time preserving economic interaction. We cannot approach the issue selectively. Unfortunately, the experience of other regions shows that this is impossible, even if there is such an intention and desire. It is always important to remember the saying: “Measure seven times, cut once”, - said the political scientist.
At the same time, our interlocutor admits that the Collective Security Treaty Organization has somewhere failed in terms of fulfilling its functions. It is obvious that the current negative trends are by no means opportunistic and momentary in nature. From Sutyrin's point of view, these trends are dictated, among other things, by the Armenian side's questions about the effectiveness of the CSTO. Still, it is a flexible organization, which is ready to rethink, somewhere to carry out “work on mistakes” in order to improve its efficiency.
“We understand the Armenian side's concerns and claims against the CSTO, and we are discussing them at the expert level today. But it is important to discuss them without emotions, and here we should not beat our chests and convince that one side is completely right and the other is wrong. We need to discuss and analyze the problems in detail,” he said.
The political scientist is convinced that some member states of the Euro-Atlantic bloc are now actively “offering themselves to Armenia”, but in reality they are not only incapable, but also completely uninterested in ensuring Armenia's strategic security.
For Russia, Armenia is important in the context of maintaining a strong position in the Transcaucasus, while for Armenia Russia is an absolutely indispensable guarantor of security and territorial integrity, Sutyrin is convinced.
Recall, the Armenian Prime Minister has previously stated several times that the country has frozen its participation in the CSTO. In September this year, Pashinyan also called the CSTO a “security threat” to Armenia and said that the point of no return in relations with the organization had been passed. The Kremlin reacted to this high-profile statement. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov disagreed with the Armenian prime minister's assessment, stressing that the CSTO poses no threat: on the contrary, the organization is called upon to protect the sovereignty of its member states.
Reprinted from https://am.sputniknews.ru/
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