Russia should not interfere in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the side of Armenia, it is dangerous and there is a danger of losing the country's reputation.
The statement came from a military expert, retired Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov.
Former head of the Russian Defense Ministry's International Military Cooperation Department L. Ivashov told Interfax on October 1 that Russia's involvement in the war is dangerous and unnecessary:
"By joining this war on the side of Armenia, we will only lose our prestige and fall into the category of aggressors. Armenia is a very changeable ally of Russia. It will take him a week to turn his back on NATO. We should think about our own security and not join this war. "
Ivashov stressed that Russia's military base in Armenia must maintain its neutrality against the background of escalating tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh. The expert said that if Armenia agrees to cede seven regions to Azerbaijan, it is possible to stop the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Russia and Turkey could act as guarantors of security:
"Russia and Turkey must ensure the security of the parties with their armed forces and politically without deploying their own units," he said. It is necessary to insist that Armenia and Azerbaijan begin to show restraint. A precondition for a ceasefire may be Armenia's consent to the liberation of seven occupied regions of Azerbaijan. Then Azerbaijan will stop all combat operations and withdraw heavy equipment.
According to Ivashov, we are talking about seven regions of Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenia in the 1990s:
"It's an empty area where no one lives," he said. There is nothing - no electricity, no water, everything is destroyed. Let them sit at the negotiating table - agree on the sequence of transfer of districts. After that, the Azerbaijani side will decide how the refugees will return there. Then the parties sit at the negotiating table and resolve the issue of the status of Karabakh. The main thing is that there is no war. "
"I once participated in this negotiation process. After all, something could be solved in the last 30 years. If they took a step towards each other at least once a year, there would be results, ”he added.
