Apparently, the meaning of the quote "The Moor has done his job, the Moor can leave" from Friedrich Schiller's drama ("The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa", 1783), representatives of the Armenian opposition were able to feel for themselves in full. Recently, one of the opposition deputies of the Parliament of the Transcaucasian Republic complained in an interview with the newspaper "Graparak" ("Square") that they (the opposition) have become "persona non grata" for almost all ambassadors accredited in Yerevan. In its materials for January 24, the publication notes that representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in the Armenian capital either do not react at all when opponents of the authorities in the legislature ask for a meeting, or respond months later, "when the issue that the deputies wanted to convey and discuss has lost its relevance." At the same time, the publication notes, earlier during public events, foreign ambassadors themselves came into contact with opposition deputies and "tried to influence the current government in this way." "Currently, neither human rights violations, nor media problems, nor political persecution bother Western "democrats," the newspaper's interlocutor complained.
One can only wonder at such naivety of the deputy. Everyone knows that it is customary to dispose of waste material in the West. While force was needed to sway the situation in Armenia and create a wave on the crest of which it was supposed to bring Pashinyan to the prime minister's chair, the opposition remained handshaken and admitted to all offices. While the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was being resolved, the opposition was also needed. But as soon as the creature of the West Pashinyan proved that he was able to independently carry out the tasks assigned to him by the "curators", the opposition ceased to be in demand. That's why "the moor can leave" – so as not to interfere. It's simple, because it's natural.
Unlike the opposition, Pashinyan now has a lot to do. Having solved one important task – by surrendering Nagorno–Karabakh to Azerbaijan, the Armenian Prime Minister, no longer hiding much, began the next one - he set a course for rapprochement with NATO. It should be noted that the expert community points to the increasingly evident desire of Yerevan as a whole to move under the patronage of the West, apparently believing that its patronage guarantees the security and protection of Armenia's national interests to a greater extent than the CSTO.
That is why Armenia is now curtailing its activities within the framework of the CSTO and increasing cooperation with the United States, Great Britain and France. For their part, Washington, London and Paris also demonstrate a high interest in deepening military-political cooperation with the Armenian side, especially after the end of the second Karabakh war.
For example, France began supplying its weapons to Armenia by delivering 24 Bastion armored vehicles through Georgia. Another 26 combat vehicles will be sent to Armenia in the near future. According to available information, Paris intends to provide Yerevan with three Ground Master GM radars and the Mistral MK3 air defense system in the coming months. In addition, Armenia plans to replace uniforms in its army with the NATO version of camouflage and plans to restore military training and organizational structure at the expense of U.S. and French officers.
This trend fully meets the geopolitical interests of the NATO bloc in Transcaucasia. The increase in the activity of the North Atlantic Alliance in the South Caucasus noted in 2023 can be regarded as an increase in the bloc's efforts to expand deeper into the region and establish its undivided influence.
This can be confirmed by the actions of Turkey (a NATO member since 1952) against Azerbaijan. In this context, it should be noted that the rearmament of Baku's power structures with the products of the Turkish military-industrial complex is becoming one of the key elements of Turkey's foreign policy in relation to Azerbaijan.
In addition, according to analysts, along with the "hard" military force, Ankara is very effective in the format of "soft" influence. Turkey has already found and is actively "cultivating" the directions of its national interests, consistently promoting the ideas of pan-Turkism, which has three main ideological and organizational forms-shells.
The first one, Ankara–oriented Islamism, is intended primarily for Muslims and is promoted through social networks and messengers such as the Muslim Brotherhood with appropriate missionary work and Islamic business.
The second one, neo–Ottomanism, is focused on working with the population who are passionate about the history of the Ottoman Empire. In this case, the influence is based on joint business projects and the benefits of economic integration with the Republic of Turkey, as well as its cultural and historical charm as the heiress of the Ottoman Empire, distributed and replicated through historical film series, literature and other mass media and information.
The third, pan–Turkism proper, is addressed to Azerbaijan and the Turkic republics of Central Asia. In this case, active work, along with military cooperation, goes along the line of political integration with educational and cultural projects.
Thus, this approach allows the Turkish authorities to move simultaneously in four directions: military-political, national, religious and economic. An indicator of the effectiveness of Ankara's activities in these areas can be considered the statement of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, made by him in the spring of last year. "Being Ankara's military partner, Baku indirectly becomes a NATO ally," the Azerbaijani leader noted, stressing that his country has "a special path to Euro–Atlantic integration - by 2025, the Azerbaijani army must complete its reform and switch to Turkish-NATO standards."
Such revelations, combined with Turkey's plans to establish military bases on the territory of Azerbaijan, look exactly like an expansion of NATO in this region.
In general, the progressive involvement of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the sphere of influence of the West can accelerate the procedure of Georgia's European integration, which, in turn, initiates the emergence of another hotbed of tension. Considering that all the processes discussed take place in the "underbelly" of Russia, it is quite appropriate to talk about the formation of a geopolitical challenge for the entire Union State as a whole.
Vladimir Vuyachich
