By Vestnik Kavkaza
When Moscow launched an embargo on certain imports from the countries which have supported sanctions against Russia, Russian economists focused on ways of import substitution and opening new markets for the country. In this context, interest in post-Soviet states has started to grow in political circles. One of the countries which could be a potential market for Russia is Azerbaijan. The Russian authorities have begun to improve ties with the country in various spheres in recent times.
According to Denis Tyurin, director of the SOC Business Club, at the moment Russian-Azerbaijani relations are going through a renaissance – there is improvement of ties in the economic, political, and humanitarian spheres: “Many Azerbaijani students visit Russia and participate in events which are organized by their Russian friends. And young people from Russia often visit Azerbaijan, learn about its culture, try to look at the country in a different way.”
Tyrin thinks that “the whole complex of the relations which can be characterized as public diplomacy between Russia and Azerbaijan needs impetus.”
At the same time relations between the countries are not cloudless. The head of the SOC Business Club is sure that the problem of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict spoils relations: “As for the political dialogue, the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh and the whole difficult complex of problems of the South Caucasus spoil such a positive picture which we can see in the economy and the humanitarian sphere. Russia is worried about the future of the region, as security and the stable economic and humanitarian development of Russia depend on it.” The SOC Business Club has a position that the conflicts in the post-Soviet space can be settled through intensive development of economic ties.
“To restore broken dialogues and undermined friendships between people, it is necessary to develop humanitarian and economic contacts. As for the dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, considering the Nagorno-Karabakh factor, economic issues could play a big and important role,” Denis Tyurin says. He thinks that “if politicians of Armenia and Azerbaijan give priority to increasing the living standards of the population and development of economic ties between regions of Armenia and Azerbaijan, it would encourage the development of political dialogue.”
Speaking about improvement of relations within post-Soviet space, Lyudmila Shuvalova, the director of the Center for Socio-Conservative Policy, stated that the system of international security was ambiguous, as Europe, Russia, and post-Soviet states had changed over 10-20 years. “Azerbaijan is the best example – it is a dynamically developing country which has achieved significant successes in comparison with other countries of the CIS. The successes were achieved due to a thoughtful and smart economic policy,” Lyudmila Shuvalova is sure.
Regarding sanctions, Shuvalova said that they could be beneficial for Russia: “In our country we can launch reforms which are necessary, but haven’t been launched before for various reasons. Probably the sanctions will give impetus to agriculture, light industry, and so on. Of course it is a difficult path, but this is our reality today.” Shuvalova also stressed that due to the circumstances Eurasian economic integration could be intensified.
