(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Elnur Enveroglu
Read more
At a time when the tension between Ukraine and Russia continues,
the statements of the United States regarding the South Caucasus
have caused a resonance. James O'Brien, Assistant Secretary of
State for European and Eurasian Affairs of the United States of
America, touched on many points while speaking at the hearing held
at the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate of the Congress.
However, the main target of the American diplomat was still the
issue of Armenia.
US-Azerbaijan relations have always developed in a stable form
over the past 30 years, and both political and economic relations
between the two states have been maintained in a balanced manner.
At the same time, the United States has closely followed the
processes in the South Caucasus from 2020 to the present day, and,
in particular, Washington has tried to show considerable initiative
in settling the peace issue, even though no final result has been
achieved between Yerevan and Baku.
This time, the issue related to the region was raised in the US
Congress, and during the hearings, peace talks between Azerbaijan
and Armenia, relations between Armenia and Russia, and the issue of
Georgia were discussed in parallel.
James O'Brien highlighted the processes between Azerbaijan and
Armenia in the region, drawing attention to the unequivocalness of
the peace talks and saying that the US side wants this matter to be
completed quickly.
He said that the completion of peace talks in a short period of
time can facilitate the trade relations of the regional states with
Central Asia by opening a new connection through the South
Caucasus, including Azerbaijan and Armenia. At the same time, the
diplomat said that if communication from the South Caucasus to
Central Asia is maintained, the dependence on Russia will
decrease.
As for the peace negotiations, the Armenian Foreign Ministry
says its response proposals regarding the peace treaty with
Azerbaijan are being prepared.
Why is US in hurry to hold Baku-Yerevan peace
talks?
On the other hand, Russia's offer to participate as a third
party in the peace talks has not gone unnoticed by the United
States. Until now, Baku has participated in the peace platforms
offered by both the West and Moscow, and unlike Armenia, it has not
rejected any platform. But how have all these meetings been able to
have a positive effect on the processes so far?
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's statement
that "Russia has taken responsibility for this" shows that Moscow
intends to somehow exclude the West from the processes. Zakharova
said that the scope and forms of such support should be acceptable
to both Baku and Yerevan: "We are ready to provide a platform for
negotiations in the bilateral format preferred by the parties. We
consider the conclusion of a balanced agreement between our two
allies to be the basis of peace architecture. This should be done
not by external forces , but by the countries of
the region."
Therefore, this initiative campaign, which has turned into a
contest, creates the basis for a clash between the West and Russia
over the South Caucasus. For this, let's look again at O'Brien's
statements. In his speech, he also emphasised the creation of
conditions for the complete separation of Yerevan from Moscow. In
parallel with the peace platform, the USA is also trying to put all
its efforts in the direction of deepening the Russian-Armenian
rift. Speaking at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings,
James O'Brien applauded the "bold" steps Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan took to distance himself from relations with
Russia.
"A significant part of the Armenian population wants to get away
from Russia. Thus, we (American authorities - Note) create
conditions for this to happen," the US diplomat said.
US sanction warning to Georgia
The sudden change of direction of the issue in the process of
negotiations regarding the accession of Georgia in the European
Union brought different questions to the fore. Georgia is one of
the three states closest to the West in the South Caucasus, and due
to internal political complexity, the issue of joining the union is
pending. Thus, at the Brussels summit, the discussions on the
conflicting aspects of the Georgian laws were decided by the fact
that the country's full accession to the EU is unacceptable.
Georgia was only granted EU candidate country status last
December after being given a list of steps it needed to take to
proceed, including justice reform.
Last day, Washington's hint of imposing new sanctions against
Georgia was another yellow card given its on-hold status to the EU
membership. It seems that the failure of the West's hopes regarding
Georgia has prompted it to resort to harsh measures.
“US authorities hope that Tbilisi will change course in the
coming months,” James O'Brien said in his speech to Congress.
"You asked about sanctions. We are actively reviewing our
current capabilities in this area. I won't announce anything, but
we are looking into it. It is not only about those who benefit from
corruption but also about those who participate in the violation of
human rights under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Act.
A year ago, we saw that the wrong path was chosen, and then the
ruling party changed its course and achieved great success. I hope
that this can be repeated in the next few months," the diplomat
said.
The question arises: What kind of fate can await Georgia if it
suddenly ignores the wishes of the West? Or if Pashinyan, who acts
more whimsically towards Moscow now, turns to Russia again one day,
how will Western policy regarding the South Caucasus change?
MENAFN01082024000195011045ID1108503589
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.