Russia and the South Caucasus: Agendas, Priorities and Realities - 2019: Page 7 of 9

that brought Europe back to the Caucasus, but the problem is that the Russian Empire was Europe then, and there wasn’t much choice.

Here is another stage of the Russian-Turkish rapprochement. How is this reflected in our region and in our countries? It leads to anxiety, although it would seem there is nothing to feel anxious about: the Turks have a very utilitarian approach to foreign policy – we will go for whatever is beneficial to Turkey, and we will not care for the rest. By the way, this is an example of all the same subjectivity. Therefore, the Turks can easily get closer to the Russian Federation, be the main supplier of weapons for Ukraine (from the latest contracts - the entire army communications system from the battalion and above, killer drones), develop the Cypriot gas field, in spite of the EU protests, and connect the Southern Gas Corridor (Southern Gas Corridor - Editor) with the Turkish stream. Hence, all is fine, the two major regional powers are competing and cooperating, they have nothing to share, in the sense that they cannot divide, give and exchange among themselves. And our countries should try to benefit from their cooperation whenever (if) it is possible.

Andrey Areshev – The Russian-Turkish relations were somehow described as "competitive cooperation." I would add, also selective. Whereever there is pragmatic interest for the parties, they cooperate (supply of modern weapon systems, energy, construction of nuclear power plants), leaving the right to disagree on other issues (in particular, when it comes to the Crimea). The events of the recent days have again demonstrated the conflicting interests of the parties in Syria, and in particular in its northwestern region, which makes experts both here and there predict the likely deterioration of bilateral relations. I often remind you that the April escalation of 2016 around Nagorno-Karabakh took place against the backdrop of an unprecedented complication of Russian-Turkish relations, hence it is necessary to strive for the maximally predictable nature of these relations.

The Iranian crisis is the main danger that threatens the region with new migration flows, socio-economic destabilization, and possible attempts to resolve regional conflicts on the sly. NATO’s regular exercises in Georgia, the modernization of the country's communications infrastructure (including runways) are interpreted by some authors in the context of anti-Iranian preparations, although the main military operations will certainly take place in the Middle East. After several provocations in the Strait of Hormuz, the degree of tension has significantly increased, but still it seems to me that it is possible to avoid the worst scenario. For Armenia and Azerbaijan as bordering states, relations with Iran are very important, and it is obvious that they are hardly ready to sacrifice these relation on the orders of John Bolton or someone else. In my opinion, the recent visit of the Armenian parliamentary delegation led by Ararat Mirzoyan (Speaker of the RA Parliament - Editor) to the United States fully testifies to this. On its part, Russia is developing partnerships with Iran, in the military sphere, too, and as I understand