Russia will stay focused on Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution under the presidency of Vladimir Putin, said the expert at the Strategic Studies Institute (US Army War College), Dr. Stephen Blank. According to him, attention to the internal affairs in Russia won't divert Moscow’s attention from Karabakh conflict settlement.

Russia has always been the most influential actor in Karabakh process, and this trend is likely to persist, the expert added. This will continue even despite the uneventful outcome of the trilateral meeting at Sochi on Jan 23 – 24, of the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. The trilateral meetings' format itself, initiated in 2008, is also likely to be preserved.

“I don't expect any tangible progress in peace talks this year, but one can surely expect the involvement of Russia not to decrease, especially considering tough statements Putin has been making on the matter,” he told. “There's been a trend of political integration around Russia, which has been constant in the last 20 years, and Russia will keep CIS consolidation among its foreign policy priorities.”