Russian expert: Armenian authorities fear any regional integration

Azerbaijan is ready to build relations with all countries, including Armenia, after the opening of a new chapter in the regional history, Associate Professor of the Department of International Security of the Faculty of World Politics of M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, pundit Aleksey Fenenko, told the Russian bureau of Report.

“If you create a real system of transport communications, then the North-South thorough corridors will appear, which can pass from Russia towards Iran, and then to the Persian Gulf. Then there will be the question of horizontal communication from the Caspian to the Black Sea, the development of a transport system that will facilitate the unblocking of the Armenian-Turkish border,” Fenenko said.

However, in his opinion, Armenia will oppose the opening of the Zangazur corridor: “The Armenian elite is very afraid of any regional integration and the involvement of their country into large, integration and regional projects. As soon as the Armenian people understand how far Armenia has lagged behind Azerbaijan and Turkey in terms of living standards, then Yerevan will reflect on the real economic situation and blame its own leadership for the backwardness of their country.”

According to the expert, the current Armenian leadership will boycott any integration projects at any cost, including the development of the road transport network within the South Caucasus: “Armenian politicians orientate their society much more towards preparing for a new war, and they have neither the desire nor the initiative to develop common regional projects.”