Moscow saves Baku’s face, says Melik-Shakhnazarian

The agreement on prolongation of the terms of deployment or Russian military unit in Armenia has saved the face of Azerbaijan, told reporters political analyst Levon Melik-Shakhnazarian at today’s press conference.

He said that military statements of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliev brought him to a deadlock, while the Azerbaijani public is expecting clear actions.

“After the Armenia-Russia protocol [on prolongation of deployment of Russian base] was signed, Aliev can say that Russia interfered and Azerbaijan can’t go in war with Russia,” said political analyst.

Levon Melik-Shakhnazarian also referred to the issue of steps that Russia would take in case of resumption of hostilities in Karabakh. “I wouldn’t like Russia interfered, as under such circumstances we will not be able to reach what we want,” he said. If the war begins, the Armenian armed forces can reach better results than in 1994, according to analyst.

“The combat capability of the Armenian army is higher that that of the Azerbaijani one,” stressed Levon Melik-Shakhnazarian. He added that Armenian Armed Forces are highly equipped as well.