The New York Times analyzed the situation in the former USSR states. It noted that tensions in countries such as Armenia, Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine, rooted in long-standing internal struggles over power, money and other issues, preceded the war, but were exacerbated by geopolitics, with both Russia and the West pushing countries to take sides.
In the territory of the former USSR, “the situation now is being shaped by how the war in Ukraine has radicalized the rivalry between Russia and the West,” Gerard Toal, studying Russia’s relations with the former Soviet states, said.
As mentioned, Armenia is also looking to Europe, angry that Russia, a longtime ally, is trying to please its enemy, Azerbaijan. “Expanding relations with Azerbaijan, a rising energy power, Moscow alienated one of its closest allies, Armenia, last year by ordering Russian peacekeepers not to intervene when Azerbaijani troops occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. Later, Armenia announced that it is considering applying for membership in the EU and withdrawing from the Moscow-led security treaty,” reads the article.
Maintaining influence over former Soviet territories has been Moscow’s goal since the early 1990s, but it received new emphasis in a revised version of the “foreign policy concept” signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last year.
