Russia and the South Caucasus: Agendas, Priorities and Realities - 2019: Page 5 of 9

hours and reside again for another year. Is this a question of interest to the authorities of the Russian Federation? I don’t know, but I know for sure that in the same Azerbaijan and in the same Armenia people know very little about this. I mean that we know very little about each other and even less about our opportunities.

Anush Sedrakyan - Let me begin the discussion with the domestic political dimension of the Russian theme from the point of view of my European colleagues. Thanks to the zeal of some experts, the West was confident that the pro-Russian course of Armenia was steadily connected with the former corrupt regime of Armenia, which supported the Russian vector in order to stay in power. With the advent of Pashinyan, this confidence was shaken, because the opposition leader, who curtsies towards the West, in fact secured all existing agreements with the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the EAEU when he came to power, thereby confirming that for him democracy and Westernism are not identical.

Gela Vasadz e - To understand the role and importance of Russian topics in the domestic political life of Georgia, I will give examples of comments on the 11th anniversary of Russian aggression (in August 2008 - Editor).

Opposition - Russia attacked Georgia and only Putin is to blame.

Pro-Russian parties - Russia attacked Georgia, but it was provoked by Saakashvili, it was his fault.
Authorities - Russia attacked Georgia, and Saakashvili these days acted on the side of Russia, that is, he is a traitor.

That is, relations with the Russian Federation are a topic for accusations. At the same time, the overwhelming majority of the Georgian population is for good neighborly relations with the Russian Federation, but only after the main problem - the occupation of Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia - is solved. The accusations of being pro-Russian are the most serious ones for any political force in Georgia, which in general is easy to explain.

Hikmet Haji-zade - In my opinion, Armenia is an outpost for Russia in its strategic plans of defending the southern flank of the Russian Federation against the Turkish and NATO hordes, hiding in anticipation of an opportunity to seize the Russian lands and resources. In general, paranoia, which has swept the ruling circles of Russia and Armenia, rules here. I do not observe any other noticeable cooperation, say, in the economic or transport sphere, but perhaps I am poorly informed.

In the historical, cultural and religious sense, Azerbaijan is a country that is strange for Russia, a country from a different civilization, and the tale that Russia saved the absorption of this country by Turks and Iranians does not work here. The country is a stranger, but a tidbit due to its resources and geographical location - at the junction of all routes from north to south and from west to east. Azerbaijan cannot be missed. Neither the Turks nor NATO will be allowed here. But we must plant the country, say, on the Karabakh hook and impose a