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U.S. EXPERT SAYS KARABAKH SETTLEMENT IN AMERICAN INTEREST
April 4, 2013 - 17:34 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Political expert, author of "The World Island:
Eurasian Geopolitics and the Fate of the West", Alexandros Petersen
published an article on Nagorno Karabakh conflict in Washington Times.
"Mr. Kerry is well-versed in the intricacies of Nagorno Karabakh,
because as a senator, he represented a particularly active cohort
of Armenian-Americans. Their lobbying in Congress has led some
Azerbaijanis to intimate that the new secretary of state might be
biased toward the other side in the conflict, but it seems that Mr.
Kerry has left his constituency's concerns behind him to focus on U.S.
national interests.
In this case, it is very much in the American interest to solve a
conflict that could at any moment boil over to destabilize an already
uncertain region just north of Iran and not far from NATO's borders
in Turkey. It is tenuously contained right next to one of the world's
most important energy arteries stretching from the Caspian to Europe.
U.S. diplomats have spent decades carving out a pipeline and
transport corridor that threads through the Caucasus region between
inhospitable Russia and Iran. A re-ignition of the conflict in the
next year-and-a-half could jeopardize troop withdrawal plans from
Afghanistan through the corridor.
Russia is Armenia's closest ally and has a deep strategic interest
in maintaining its military power in the Caucasus. Russia maintains
its 102nd Military Base on Armenian territory, with more than 3,000
combat troops, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, as well
as MiG aircraft and anti-aircraft defenses. Russian forces patrol
Armenia's borders and Kremlin-backed firms control the majority of
Armenia's economy, including its entire energy sector. A defense
treaty with Moscow obligates Russia to defend Armenia in case of war,
including an escalation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Moscow
has no such relationships with Azerbaijan. In fact, at the moment,
Russian technicians are leaving Azerbaijan's largest radar facility
as part of a deal agreed to late last year to sever the last vestiges
of Soviet-era ties.
Far from being a source for concern, Mr. Kerry's familiarity with
the conflict provides an opportunity for the United States to craft
a better strategy for settlement in Karabakh, one in which Russia's
interests are seen for what they are: counterproductive. In this case,
the deep involvement of a U.S. secretary of state would go further in
getting results than the ongoing disingenuous efforts of a Russian
president. Mr. Kerry has his work cut out for him, but he may well
be the best man for the job," the article reads.
April 4, 2013 - 17:34 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Political expert, author of "The World Island:
Eurasian Geopolitics and the Fate of the West", Alexandros Petersen
published an article on Nagorno Karabakh conflict in Washington Times.
"Mr. Kerry is well-versed in the intricacies of Nagorno Karabakh,
because as a senator, he represented a particularly active cohort
of Armenian-Americans. Their lobbying in Congress has led some
Azerbaijanis to intimate that the new secretary of state might be
biased toward the other side in the conflict, but it seems that Mr.
Kerry has left his constituency's concerns behind him to focus on U.S.
national interests.
In this case, it is very much in the American interest to solve a
conflict that could at any moment boil over to destabilize an already
uncertain region just north of Iran and not far from NATO's borders
in Turkey. It is tenuously contained right next to one of the world's
most important energy arteries stretching from the Caspian to Europe.
U.S. diplomats have spent decades carving out a pipeline and
transport corridor that threads through the Caucasus region between
inhospitable Russia and Iran. A re-ignition of the conflict in the
next year-and-a-half could jeopardize troop withdrawal plans from
Afghanistan through the corridor.
Russia is Armenia's closest ally and has a deep strategic interest
in maintaining its military power in the Caucasus. Russia maintains
its 102nd Military Base on Armenian territory, with more than 3,000
combat troops, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, as well
as MiG aircraft and anti-aircraft defenses. Russian forces patrol
Armenia's borders and Kremlin-backed firms control the majority of
Armenia's economy, including its entire energy sector. A defense
treaty with Moscow obligates Russia to defend Armenia in case of war,
including an escalation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Moscow
has no such relationships with Azerbaijan. In fact, at the moment,
Russian technicians are leaving Azerbaijan's largest radar facility
as part of a deal agreed to late last year to sever the last vestiges
of Soviet-era ties.
Far from being a source for concern, Mr. Kerry's familiarity with
the conflict provides an opportunity for the United States to craft
a better strategy for settlement in Karabakh, one in which Russia's
interests are seen for what they are: counterproductive. In this case,
the deep involvement of a U.S. secretary of state would go further in
getting results than the ongoing disingenuous efforts of a Russian
president. Mr. Kerry has his work cut out for him, but he may well
be the best man for the job," the article reads.