A restart is necessary in relations with Russia

The three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have, in fact, failed to prevent Azerbaijan’s latest aggression during the 44-day war, after which we witnessed displacement and ethnic cleansing, Karen Bekaryan, Chair of INSIGHT analytical center, said during the podcast “Special Regime” broadcast on ABC media.

“This cannot be erased, but yes, the efforts of the Russian side to stop the war yielded results. Yes, with gratitude for the peacekeeping mission, but it is an important point that when our compatriots were returning to Artsakh after the 44-day war, their hope and sense of security were not connected to the current authorities of Armenia but were mostly related to Russia, considering that the signature of the Russian leader was also under that notorious document,” Bekaryan stated.

According to the analyst, it should be noted that thanks to the peacekeeping mission, our compatriots were safely transported from Artsakh to Armenia, but the mission has failed in its mandated tasks.

Talking about Armenian-Russian relations, the analyst noted that Azerbaijan has occupied the sovereign territory of Armenia, recalling the CSTO and the Armenian-Russian mutual assistance treaty.

Bekaryan noted that all these issues should include a restart of dialogue, where there must be answers to questions, the issue of fully restoring trust, and actions stemming from it.

“The key figures or those involved in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be properly addressed and guided, so that the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson does not make provocative statements that would undermine the foundations of the Armenian-Russian relations strategy. For example, two days ago she openly spoke about the impossibility of returning to the OSCE Minsk Group; this contributes to the decline of Russia’s reputation,” Abraham Gasparyan, Director of Genesis Armenia think tank/foundation said.

According to Karen Bekaryan, there are 2-3 steps that the new authorities must take:

• It should be officially stated that the bilateral agreement is in full effect, and within that framework, until the delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Russia will base its actions on the USSR map.
• It must be firmly stated at the highest level that the issue of Artsakh cannot be considered closed as long as at least the safe and dignified return is not ensured.

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