September 3, 2008 - 19:36 AMT
U.S. may try to demonstrate its power once again before presidential election
The Georgian-South Ossetian conflict was a clash of interests of Russia and the United States, according to an Armenian expert.
 
"Russia had to prevent Georgia's joining NATO. For its turn, the U.S. pursues its own objectives. Republicans had to do something to improve McCain's rating and they used Saakashvili for the purpose," Karen Bekaryan, head of European Integration NGO, said during a round-table discussion today.
 
However, the U.S.-Russia and NATO-CSTO relations arouse concerns. It's not ruled out that the U.S. may try to demonstrate its power once again before presidential election, according to him.
 
Touching upon recognition of Nagorno Karabakh, he said, "Independence of Kosovo or South Ossetia is quite another matter. Armenia has several variants to choose from. It can recognize NKR's independence or sign a Big Treaty after it. It can also sign a treaty without recognizing independence. Anyway, I think that talks should be active before the presidential election in Azerbaijan. We should not forget the OSCE MG Co-chairs from Russia and U.S. pursue different objectives. The same refers to France, which represents the European Union," Bekaryan said.