Azernews.Az

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has a plan to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, according to the leader of the International Eurasia Movement.
"This plan envisions Russian troops` entering Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh [an Azeri region under occupation] and driving Armenian armed forces from there," Alexander Dugin said, noting that the plan stems from Moscow`s aspiration to defy the United States and NATO and to solve regional problems without US involvement.
According to Dugin, restoring strategic cooperation with Azerbaijan and Turkey is vital for Russia.
"If we are talking about concrete geo-political interests, in order to put up resistance to the Euro-Atlantic alliance Russia needs, at least, Turkey`s strategic neutrality and an alliance with Azerbaijan."
"Russia has gained everything from its strategic cooperation with Armenia, while Armenia`s strategic position is such that this country can no longer give Russia anything," Dugin said.
Vladimir Charikhin, deputy director of the Moscow-based Institute of CIS Countries said Russia, which earlier gave preference to keeping conflicts in post-Soviet countries in a "frozen" state, is no longer interested in preserving the status quo in the Caucasus region. He said Russia now realizes that the strategy of "freezing" the conflicts was appropriate only to a certain point.
He said it was earlier believed that "time is the only possible remedy here." But this strategy is beginning to grow old and this was clearly seen in the recent conflicts over Georgia`s rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"The Russian leadership is therefore striving to break the ice, so to speak, in settling the Garabagh conflict, but it is trying to do so in a positive way, contrary to a blow-up," Charikhin said.