Last week the Russian representative in the UN said that Russia will support Azerbaijan in the upcoming elections to the new board of the non-permanent UN Security Council members. The head of the Russian Social and Political Research Center, Vladimir Evseyev, commented on this statement, as well as some other recent developments, to VK.
- What are Russia’s motives for supporting Azerbaijan’s candidature for non-permanent UN Security Council membership?
- As you know, Russia has delivered an S-300 missile complex to Azerbaijan, along with three batteries, despite all doubts. Russia is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan, but at the same time it wants to retain its strategic partnership with Armenia. Russia supports Azerbaijan in this matter because it wants to show its good intentions. And, of course, Russia hopes to stop Azerbaijan from resorting to force in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as it would inevitably be drawn into it.
Russia has a right of veto in the UN Security Council, so it can prevent any undesired decision of the Council. But it is possible that Russia wants additional support in the votes or wants Azerbaijan to voice some of Russia's initiatives – so that Russia wouldn’t be the only one promoting a number of principles. And this is only natural: every state tries to introduce its supporters into important international bodies. Moreover, Azerbaijan has good relations with the West, so it has a good chance.
- And how would Azerbaijan profit from such a status?
- It would, possibly, bring up the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in one way or another. However, this turn wouldn’t be good for Russia. Azerbaijan’s wish to discuss the problem might not be actually enough for the Security Council, but it is in the realm of possibility.
- Russian PM Vladimir Putin published an article touching upon the prospects fir creating a Eurasian Union. Do you think this idea might interest the South Caucasian states?
- I don’t think this initiative is addressed to these countries directly. They might be involved as transport corridors for gas and coal, but nothing more. The Eurasian Union is more about the Central Asian countries, and the South Caucasus is on this hypothetical Union’s periphery. I think that the South Caucasian countries are more interested in partnership with Europe and Turkey. The very idea of the Eurasian Union was expressed by the Kazakh President, so no, I don’t think that the region of the South Caucasus was initially meant to be integrated into this alliance. Nevertheless, an increase of cooperation within the framework of the trans-Caspian pipeline is definitely implied. Kazakhstan sells its oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, while Turkmenistan also participates in the trans-Caspian pipeline project, however its participation in the Eurasian Union project is most unlikely. So I don’t think that oil and gas related issues will influence the choice of the Union’s members.
Interview by Eugene Krishtalev, exclusively to VK
