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US analyst: â€œAs long as Armenia is receiving full economic, political and military support from a major power while still occupying Nagorno-Karabakh, there is no role for the Westâ€

16 December 2011 08:03 (UTC +04:00)

The analyst reminded that when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was a president in 2007, he offered the US joint use of the Azerbaijani radar station instead of the building an independent station in the Czech Republic. The US eventually rejected this proposal, however, because the base would have required extensive modernization.

In the meanwhile, the analyst says, â€œPresident Medvedevâ€™s latest statement that Gabala radar will not take part in a European missile defense program would indicate such an offer is no longer on the table.

Speaking about the main differences between the Russian and Western approaches to South Caucasus, Mr. Coyle mentioned that in general, the Russians seem more attuned to the geo-political importance of the countries in the Caucasus while the West seems more interested in economics.

â€œRussia is interested in friendship treaties, while the West is interested in pipeline routes. Russia is also interested in pipelines, but only to the extent that pipelines can be used to further their geo-political interests. The West is more concerned with energy supplies for Europeâ€.

The analyst also pointed out, the fact that Azerbaijan has huge swaths of its territory occupied by a neighboring state is a major threat to the regional stability. â€œStability can only be assured when all countries in a region live in peace with borders that are recognized by the other countries in the regionâ€.

As for the possible Western role on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Mr. Coyle said, â€œAs long as Armenia is receiving full economic, political and military support from a major power while still occupying Nagorno-Karabakh, there is no role for the Westâ€.