A visit of the Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to Azerbaijan is yet another step by Moscow in its mediation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. That is what the President of the National Strategy Institute, Mikhail Remizov, said in an interview with a Vestnik Kavkaza correspondent, commenting on the negotiations between Shoigu and his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov in Baku.
The expert underlined that two years have passed since Shoigu has last visited Azerbaijan. During this period the military cooperation between the two countries was influenced mostly by April fighting in Karabakh.
‘‘The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has been frozen for many years. The ‘‘active phase’’ resumed in April 2016 when ordinary exchanges of fire turned into a short term, but intense war. The current Russia’s task is to bring the situation back to the positions, which would allow settling the conflict. That is why we see intensive contacts at the highest level – the meeting between Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents. It can be expected that Shoigu's visit was a working extension of those meetings and agreements that took place at the presidential level," he explained.
The leading expert at Political Science Center North-South Alexander Karavaev expressed confidence that Russia and Azerbaijan are now entering a new phase of development of the military-technical cooperation. Defense ministers’ visits are designed to determine and negotiate key areas of cooperation at this stage.
"Our relations continue to strengthen. Contracts for the supply of Russian arms, signed in 2010-2011, are almost implemented. Now we are outlining a new military-technical cooperation,’’ he added.
Following the meeting, Deputy Defense Minister, Anatoly Antonov, said that the Russian Defense Ministry expects to intensify the dialogue with Baku in order to establish a security system and work out confidence-building measures in the Caspian Sea.
