August 11, 2009 - 22:57 AMT
Has Russia finally put up with competition in Caucasus?
Nabucco project or the South Steam agreement signed between Russia and Turkey does not in any way influence regional situation, "Heritage" faction MP Stepan Safaryan told a news conference in Yerevan. Last year, Russia negatively reacted to all project circumventing its interests and did its best to prevent their implementation. The only exception was Nabucco, he said.

Nabucco agreement, according to Safaryan, seriously affected Russia's interests in Caucasus, hence the country's primary task was to start the second stage of Russian-Georgian war or provoke a new conflict related to Karabakh in order to block project implementation process.

Touching upon Russian premier Vladimir Putin's recent statement on Nabucco's being a competitive project for Moscow, Armenian parliamentarian found it strange and proposed that Russia finally put up with competition in Caucasus.

Commenting upon official Baku's statement that Azerbaijan will coerce Armenia into peace, Safaryan said, "Such statement is a kind of probing to which Armenia should not react."