(Aravot) Interview with Sergey Markedonov, the Head of Foreign Policy department of the Russian State University for Humanities, Associate Professor, and Russian political scientist.
– Mr. Markedonov, on September 21, in your opinion, what military-political influence will “Iskander” missiles, “Smerch”, “Buk” and other systems demonstrated by the RA Armed Forces during the military parade dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Independence of Armenia have in the region, particularly in the connotation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
– Of course, I am not a specialist on military issues and find it difficult to assess and draw conclusions about how effective it will be, what kind of similar weapons the opponent has or does not have. I can assess the situation only as a politician, as a specialist in the civil matter. The demonstration of this new system in the parade was a symbolic move. First of all, it is 25 years and the quarter century jubilee is extremely important for any country, for Armenia, which gained independence by passing quite a tough way, and many tragedies occurred on the way to it. Here is the 25th anniversary of the independence of the state. Moreover, the country currently does not have fewer problems: the Karabakh conflict, extremely difficult relations with Turkey, regional isolation, there are problems with other partners, even questions sometimes arise with the allies. In this regard, this parade was a symbolic event to show that we are capable of ensuring the country’s independence, which is already 25 years old, that the powerful ally in our rear – Russia – despite all the problems, the federal relations are maintained. This was not only addressed to Azerbaijan and Turkey but to the entire world that the state retains its independence and national interests. Here is how I will estimate as a political scientist. […]
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