Has Russia chosen Ganja again?

Valentina Matviyenko, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, who met with a group of Azerbaijani MPs, including the Speaker of the Milli Majlis, Sahiba Gafarova in Moscow, praised the development of relations between the two countries and made an interesting proposal: "The opening of the Consulate General of Russia in Azerbaijan would be a clear example of alliance." In other words, Matviyenko wanted to say that "let the consulate general be opened, our partnership will become stronger." Is this possible?

Before Valentina Matviyenko, owner Gafarova met with the Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin. He also praised bilateral relations and warned Yerevan, which is trying to replace Russia with the West, with these words: "Those who make statements in the direction of European institutions will simply lose their country." Any acute issue or conflict situation will not be resolved with the participation of the European Parliament and PACE. Therefore, those who want to involve the European Parliament and PACE should think 10 times and measure how it will end in the example of Ukraine, Yugoslavia and other countries. Anyone who wants peace, who wants to solve the situation, should not only stay away from these quasi-parliaments - be it PACE or the European Parliament, but also clearly understand that their participation will aggravate the situation and create more and more problems. If they do that, then they should be responsible for the consequences."

This time, through Vyacheslav Volodin, the Kremlin has shown that it is dissatisfied with the policy of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Pashinyan's invitation to the European Union, including French observers, to the contact zone with Azerbaijan is against Russia's regional interests. This course is in the interests of Azerbaijan.

Nevertheless, Russia's desire to open a consulate general in Azerbaijan should be seriously investigated. Most likely, Moscow wants to open the consulate general in Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan. Russia does not want to lag behind Turkey, which has a consulate general in Ganja. It is unlikely that official Baku will allow Russia to open a consular general service in Azerbaijan in a short period of time. Russia, through its agency network, once used Ganja for the purpose of rebellion. This was a lesson for us. Therefore, there is no need to rush. Although the Kremlin calls Azerbaijan a partner, it supports separatism in the region, calls the leaders of the Karabakh separatists to Moscow and gives them instructions that are unknown to us. This is Russia's policy that is not pleasant to Azerbaijan. Such a message can be sent to Moscow that as soon as the Russian military contingent leaves Karabakh in 2025, a positive decision will be made regarding the opening of the consulate general in Azerbaijan. In other words, the opening of the consulate general should be connected with the departure of the military contingent from Azerbaijan.

"Atlas" Research Center