Charles King, a professor for international relations and management at Georgetown University, told Vestnik Kavkaza about the US outlook on processes in the Caucasus, Syria and Iran.
- How important is the Caucasus Region for the US?
- What matters is not whether Russia or the United States win in the Caucasus, but how the policies of Caucasus states suit the interests of Moscow and Washington in the Caucasus. For example, Georgia will soon have presidential polls and the new government will set a certain foreign policy. It is important for the United States to see a fair process. I think that Washington is interested in fair elections.
Relations between the United States and Georgia remained very serious even under the new government. Washington has active relations with Armenia due to presence of a large Armenian diaspora in the US. The evolution of politics in the region concerns the choice made by citizens, it is not giant chessboard pieces making their moves. If we talk about the processes in the Caucasus Region as a game with a certain result, Russia has an advantage. But maybe we should just not analyze politics that way.
- Could we consider the actions of Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh as aggression and occupation, in terms of the international law? Why does the West never recall that moment?
- The international community wants the violence and murders to be stopped. When the situation stabilized there, the international community started encouraging Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations. The United States are a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group and everyone hopes for a moment when the process gets a new boost. There are many sides interested in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, but they are almost satisfied with the current status. In time, something may change for the benefit of Azerbaijan, but a new war could aggravate relations between Azerbaijan and the United States and rock the position of Azerbaijan in the world.
- Would Western states interfere if the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continued in the same heat as the conflict in Syria?
- The situation in Syria is changing fast and it is hard to tell what will happen in the next moment. The proposal of the Russian Federation regarding the chemical weapons was a surprise for the United States. It may become an opportunity to slip back from crisis, but it is not a solution to the Syrian problem. It is a solution to the disagreements between the United States and the Syrian authorities, but not the civil war. As regards the Caucasus, I assume that a solution of the conflict at a high level would not solve the problem of refugees, property.
- How will US-Iranian relations develop, in your opinion?
- The main reason why the United States is interested in Syria is human rights, problems with chemical weapons. But US politicians observe the precedent as events that may happen in Iran. Here is the idea: any use of weapons of mass destruction should be prevented. It is a lesson for the Iranian government, telling it not to develop nuclear weapons. Many of us are concerned about the situation in Iran, especially when Iranians want to produce nuclear weapons.
