Andrei Bystritsky: Russia and South Caucasus have working relationship

Russia has developed working relations with the countries of the South Caucasus, the chairman of the board of the Development Fund and Support for the International Debating Club ‘Valdai’, Andrei Bystritsky, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza on the sidelines of the official opening of the Annual ‘Valdai’ Meeting in Sochi.

"Undoubtedly, we still have some problems with Georgia after the war in 2008, but the Russian Federation has working relations with all the republics of the region today. Of course, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue didn't just disappear, although, in my opinion, it is kept in a balanced state. Overall, the dynamics of Russia's relations with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia cannot be described as negative," he noted.

"If we talk about Azerbaijan, the relations in the Caspian Sea area are coming to the fore. Armenia is an extremely isolated country today, although it is friendly to us. The relations with Georgia are more developing than dragging," the chairman of the board of the Development Fund and Support for the International Debating Club ‘Valdai’ believes.

According to Andrei Bystritsky, the Caucasus theme will be raised more than once at the 'Valdai' meeting. "Today there will be a session on literature, which could touch on Tolstoy and Lermontov, who are related to the wars in the Caucasus. And tomorrow there will be a session on the Middle East," he noted.

Speaking about the IS threat, the chairman of the board of the Development Fund and Support for the International Debating Club ‘Valdai’ stressed that it is topical for the Caucasus. "This is a significant, global threat, which the Caucasus cannot avoid, especially as it is geographically close to areas controlled by the gang," Andrei Bystritsky said.