AZE.US
Azerbaijani political analyst Eldar Namazov said Russia is effectively putting pressure on both Armenia and Azerbaijan at the same time, arguing that Moscow is trying to disrupt a peace process that has advanced further than many expected.
Speaking on the Novosti Kavkaza channel, Namazov said the current phase of Armenian-Azerbaijani talks has created a new reality in the region, one that leaves less room for Russian leverage. In his reading, that is why Moscow has begun reacting more aggressively both toward Yerevan and toward Baku.
He was especially critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks during Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow. Namazov argued that Putin not only tried to pressure Armenia, but also made statements that could be seen as directed against Azerbaijan. He said this was not accidental, because any outside force seeking to derail the peace track would, in practice, have to hit both sides at once.
Namazov said Moscow’s behavior showed deep irritation with the fact that Armenia and Azerbaijan have moved so far in trying to close the Karabakh chapter and build a post-conflict framework without returning the issue to the center of negotiations. He criticized attempts to reintroduce Karabakh into the broader regional agenda, arguing that both Baku and Yerevan now treat that page as closed.
He also pointed to statements by Russian officials as further evidence of a harder line from Moscow. According to Namazov, these comments reflected a broader Russian effort to challenge the emerging regional balance and to resist transport and diplomatic arrangements that reduce its role.
In that sense, he said, the pressure is no longer aimed at only one capital. It is aimed at the logic of the peace process itself – and at both countries trying to move it forward.