SOUTH CAUCASIAN COUNTRIES MORE ORIENTED TOWARDS US THAN RUSSIA IN NEAR FUTURE

PanARMENIAN.Net - The South Caucasian countries - Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan - are inclined to orient themselves rather towards the US than Russia. An article published in "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" Russian newspaper yesterday's issue expresses such an opinion. Until recently, the article author writes, the relations in the region were determined by discrepancy of foreign policy views of the South Caucasian states and availability of a number of "frozen" conflicts (Abkhazia, North Osetia and Nagorno Karabakh). Now a shift in the relations of these countries with the US and NATO, regional powers - Turkey and Iran and unambiguously with Russia - is quite probable. Armenia's stand is rather illustrative in this respect, the article says. It agreed to hold military exercises within the framework of "Partnership for Peace" program in its territory in June with participation of the Turkish military, which was considered impossible until recently. One should search for explanations of such unexpected changes in the position of Armenia exactly in the imbalance of directions of the regional cooperation and in Yerevan considering the US and NATO first of all as new "support". At the same time Armenia is not going to renounce strategic partnership with Russia, the article author supposes.