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Well-known Russian analyst, TV and radio journalist, Vladimir Solovyov addressed the military operations on the Line of Contact between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan during a Russian TV programme, stressing that Russia shouldn’t think Azerbaijan could substitute Armenia.

“Interestingly enough, we don’t discuss the question of who started it. For example, concerning Ukraine we insist that Kiev should negotiate with Lugansk and Donetsk, yet as far as Azerbaijan is concerned, they still don’t negotiate. Why the double standards? We’re losing either. Why don’t we want to see the broadcasts about beheaded Armenian soldiers, about capture and torture of people? I realize that we must consider the interests of both sides, but does it mean that we’re no longer interested in the truth,” Solovyov said.
He stressed that it is a must to talk about the truth for the international community to have an objective image of the events on the Line of Contact. The analyst also strongly criticized all the experts who rushed to give victorious description to Azerbaijan’s operations.

“No blitzkrieg occurred. Moreover, nothing similar to that happened. Thus I wonder over the approaches to that. Should we lose our last friend, real friend? We have a military base there. We monitor the border, and can you imagine what anti Russian sentiments are evolving in Armenia now? You should not pretend that Azerbaijan might replace Armenia for us. I would like to remind we have no base in Azerbaijan; we do not protect the borders of that state. Aside from that, an increased visit of Turkish officials is recorded there. Therefore we should respond to a single question ahead of us  - where are our national interests?” Solovyov asked rhetorically.
According to the analyst, this may lead to a situation when Armenia will turn away from Russia, which will negatively impact on Russia. Drawing parallels between Russia- Crime and Armenia-Artsakh relations, Solovyov finds similarities in the occurred situations.

“Note, that the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan never brought us to a deadlock through not threatening to recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabakh, a situation when Russia will have to enter into the war with Azerbaijan within the CSTO obligations. Imagine only the Armenians’ reaction when our officials state they would continue the arm sale to Azerbaijan. We perhaps should put preconditions with the arm supply,” Solovyov noted.

He then added that Azerbaijan is a beneficial partner to Russia in terms of economy, although that does not mean that the meeting the interests of the corrupted elites are in line with the national interests of Russia.

“I definitely realize we can not afford quarreling with Azerbaijan. Whether should we betray our CSTO ally?  - is the main questions. For example, Turkey publicly declared it would support Azerbaijan; did we issue a similar statement with regard to our ally? Let us remember that Azerbaijan fired at Tavush Province of Armenia That is the territory of Armenia and the CSTO kept silent about the fact,” Vladimir Solovyov concluded.