The memorandum singed on November 2 between Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev in Moscow remains in the center of the attention of experts and media. Yesterday the Russian Pravda also addressed this issue, which by the way had certain negative hues for us. And the concerns become even more substantiated if we take into account the fact that the Pravda is a Kremlin source and is the unofficial microphone of the Kremlin. The first part of the publication speaks about the force and power of the Russian Federation, which is seen from the title of the article – “Karabakh – great progress in the service of Russia.” By the way the publication starts with scorn that Russians take their power for granted. “Russia was following the elections in the US as though they were electing their own president but it seems they don’t have strength to speak about the fact that Russia is fortifying its positions in the Caucasus and solves the 20-year-old conflict.” The author of the article Vladimir Antokhin first tried to express the value of the memorandum by noting that since 1994 this is the first document signed between the presidents of the two countries. “Moscow clearly showed its opportunities in this region to the world,” he writes. As an important outcome of the memorandum the newspaper mentions the clarification of the position of the mediators of the OSCE Minsk Group. He wrote that the EU, Washington and Paris have already welcomed the step of the Kremlin. The Pravda also registered another circumstance in the process. “In past the OSCE Minsk Group and the European community thought that first the economic ties must be strengthened and only then create pre-conditions for the political resolution of the conflict. The memorandum of Moscow states that first the sides must agree on political pre-conditions and only then focus on the development of economic ties.” But what brought to the success of the memorandum? In the opinion of the author of the article it was sufficient to bring up the example of Georgia to persuade Yerevan and Baku. “The loss of Akbhazia and South Ossetia on part of Tbilisi showed the negative impact, which the tiny demonstration of power can have in the region.” Later the publication speaks about the warranties, which the sides agreed on. It turns out that the only warranty given by Azerbaijan is not to start war with Armenia. It seems that only Armenia fears the start of the war. “It is not a secret that Armenia is concerned about the intensive development of the Azerbaijani army. The official Baku is preparing its population that the only possible way of the conflict is through military means,” writes the Pravda and adds that the theme of the recovery of the territorial integrity has slightly diverted the attention of the average Azerbaijani citizens from the difficult social conditions. And what warranties has Yerevan given? Pravda writes about that as well by saying that there is nothing new in this regard and the provisions of the memorandum clarify the other agreements made in past, which includes the removal of the Armenian troops from the territories occupied during the war. Moreover, the author adds that by the end of the year there will be another trilateral meeting. “It is not excluded that by the end of the year another memorandum will be signed on removing the Armenian troops from the 7 regions and the return of the Azerbaijani refugees to those regions. It is possible that after that Moscow-Baku-Yerevan road may be opened.” However this is not all yet. The author wrote about the mistakes of the Armenian side without any diplomatic tricks. The first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan also spoke about these mistakes and that is the segregation of the NKR from the conflict resolution process. Pravda called this a weighty victory for Baku. And we know what the victory of Baku means for us. Of course, all this doesn’t interest Russia very much. The most important thing is the strengthening of their own positions in the Caucasus and elsewhere. Of course as the Pravda writes in the regional meaning Russia should lose neither allies nor partners. It should vice versa increase the number of its partners. However, judging from the publication Russia either doesn’t consider us their allies or are sure that we won’t be hurt and that we may accept several tiny sacrifices for the “elder brother.” Or Russia in general doesn’t care about us. Otherwise how can the author write about the allies and partners right after the following, “That is the reason why the regulation of the NKR conflict will take place in parallel with the development of the Russian-Turkish relations.” “Turkey will become another guarantor of the NKR conflict resolution,” says the author of the article and also adds that this process cannot be quick because of the activation of the role of the US in the region. At the end of the publication the author is trying to ensure that if Moscow didn’t have the intention to peacefully resolve the conflict then it wouldn’t ever organize the trilateral meeting n Moscow. “The momentum of the negotiations arrived. The tension in the region grows and Russia is trying to reach the peaceful agreement of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” wraps up the Pravda.
