On September 27, we asked Ali Abbasov, the Head of the Department of the Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences in the village of Tekali, about the reasons of recent warming of relations between Azerbaijan and Russia.
He said, “If we refer to the past, we would see that different phases of freezing and warming of relations have happened a lot. Now, it is the next wave. Since Azerbaijan and Armenia are small countries, they depend on the situation of big countries. These are the USA and Russia, to some extent, also the European Union that has commenced the policy of associate membership with some South Caucasus countries. Therefore, I think that it is a result of a balance policy. Armenia and Azerbaijan are trying to balance between the West and Russia, as long as it is successful, by protecting also their own interests. There is a great pressure on Azerbaijan by the West with regard to protection of human rights; naturally, there is a move to Russia. It is not something new, it has been extended already two decades, it is a balance policy between Russia and Azerbaijan.”
Voskan SARGSYAN
