Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok today that the created world tension can lead to destabilization of the situation in the South Caucasus and compared it to the situation in 2020, when Azerbaijan, taking advantage of the fact that the attention of the world community is focused on the coronavirus pandemic, started a war in Artsakh.

With the turbulence in international relations, the situation, according to political analyst Alexey Martynov, can explode anywhere. And the South Caucasus is no exception.

"It is important to understand that the term South Caucasus is not accurate and artificial. All this was invented in pseudo-scientific Western centers in order to tie the topic into one problematic: if there is the North Caucasus, then there is also the South Caucasus. In reality, there is one common Caucasus. And what is called the South Caucasus is the Transcaucasus, or rather the Armenian Plateau.

Like any other region with an unresolved conflict, the Transcaucasus is at risk. There is nothing surprising here. I don't know what is in Azerbaijan's head, but Aliyev is making statements that he expects to conclude a peace agreement by the end of the year. Let's see how sincere he is," the political analyst told NEWS.am.

During his speech, Pashinyan also expressed hope for Russia's support in the issues of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

"It is easier for Armenians to judge the sincerity of the Armenian Prime Minister's statements, but he certainly has no one else to count on. He cannot count on Borrell (head of European diplomacy - ed.). We certainly can't count on him," the expert stated.

In his assessment, Russia upholds its interests and helps its allies and partners which Armenia is rightly considered to be.

The Armenian Prime Minister also stated that the work on unblocking the communications has made good progress, pointing out that all the issues are unsolved, including the legal issues, noting the importance of the roads being under the full sovereignty of the countries through which they pass.

The political scientist assured that only peace in the Caucasus is beneficial to Russia. "Accordingly, everything that contributes to the cause of peace suits Moscow and it will support it, and everything that hinders, Russia will condemn and oppose. Therefore, one should not look for pitfalls in this. Achieving peace lies in the realm of compromise. Without mutual compromises, there will be no peace in the Transcaucasus; therefore, it is necessary to understand what is being done and for what purpose.

"We can say all this endlessly, I mean the claims that Pashinyan made today, but it is important to understand that there are two states: either war or peace. We have had enough of war in the Transcaucasus for the last three decades. It's time to make peace. Another question is where the limits are of these compromises, and most importantly, they must be mutual," Martynov added.

Commenting on Pashinyan's reference to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship format and Russia's role, the expert compared the Armenian Prime Minister's speech to a kind of exam in an educational institution.

"I listened to Nikol Pashinyan's speech in its entirety and it seems to me that he listed everything he knew, honestly said everything. It was as if he was taking an exam, giving a lesson. Pashinyan looked pretty decent, he spoke in a good language, he almost didn't get confused. He usually gets nervous and gets confused," our interviewee finished his conversation sarcastically.

Aram Danielyan