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Armenia came to question its steadfast loyalty to Russia when fighting with Azerbaijan over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region erupted anew in April, reads the report of Stratfor analytical center, dedicated to Russia. 

''The feud escalated perhaps in part because Russia was too distracted at the time with the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine to intervene. If the West offers Moscow fewer challenges under new administrations in the United States and Europe, however, it will be in a better position to assert its authority as the dispute's primary arbiter,'' the authors write.

According to the experts, even countries that have stayed more or less neutral in the standoff between Russia and the West may adjust their stance. Thus, for instance, recently held talks aimed at strengthening military cooperation with Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, which seek to deepen ties with Moscow. f

''Moscow may also have a chance to reinvigorate integration initiatives such as the Eurasian Economic Union or the Collective Security Treaty Organization, since Europe's growing political rifts are likely to interfere with the European Union's focus on its Eastern Partnership program,'' the report reads.

Overall, the authors think that after three years of economic downfall and controversies with teh West, Russia's position seems to be improving. Former Soviet states which watch the changes in Washington and Europe and will possibly reconsider their positions in regard to Moscow.

According to them, over the next year, Russia may seize the opportunity to regain influence in many of its borderland states as a new administration takes over in Washington and the European Union's splits widen. ''But its comeback in the former Soviet states will fall far short of the one it experienced in the late 2000s, when Russia's economy was thriving and its political system was free of the turmoil currently bedeviling it. Even if the West eases sanctions on Moscow in 2017, moreover, the United States and NATO are hardly likely to abandon their allies in Russia's periphery. Still, the political transformations underway in Europe and the United States could give Moscow more room to restore its standing throughout Eurasia,'' the authors conclude.

 

 

 

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