The Aravot newspaper interviewed Arnold Stepanyan, Chairman of the “Multinational Georgia” NGO. Speaking of the lessons of the Russian-Georgian war, he pointed out that, after that war, Armenia might decide to prolong the deployment of Russian military bases in its territory and place emphasis on Russia though it has spoken of a complementary policy a lot before.

“I think that the dividing lines drawn in the region in conformity with the countries’ foreign policies, though clearly seen before the Russian-Georgian war, could, as it was believed, be ‘wiped off’. However, the dividing lines between countries, particularly between Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, are even clearer now. Georgia is seeking integration with the West, whereas Armenia is looking northward,” Stepanyan said.

He also pointed out that after the war any talks about an integrated security system in the South Caucasus are possible in a long period of time. The main lesson for the region is that the South Caucasus countries must arrive at agreements by themselves.