Opinion: The future of the South Caucasus fits into the global trend  of regionalization

ArmInfo.Russia's active mediation efforts have provided prerequisites and promising  opportunities for cooperation both within the South Caucasus region  and in a wider format with the involvement of existing integration  structures.

This opinion was expressed by the associate professor of  the Russian State University for the Humanities Alexander Gushchin  during the international round table "The South Caucasus - New  Opportunities and Prospects for Cooperation", held on the initiative  of the Russian Political Science Center "North - South".

"First of all, this concerns Eurasian Economic Union. The  implementation of new transport projects in the region should become  the basis and provide an impetus for infrastructural and social  development," the Russian expert said. At the same time, he expressed  his conviction that the signing on November 9, 2020 in Moscow of a  trilateral agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia on a  complete cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and on  unblocking economic transport links has significantly changed the  situation in the region. In turn, Konstantin Tasits, a leading  researcher at the Center for Studies of the Near Abroad of the  Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, analyzing the key conditions  for the stable development of the South Caucasus, taking into account  the factor of Nagorno-Karabakh, identified three important aspects:  taking measures to consolidate the ceasefire regime, excluding the  possibility of escalation; ensuring sustainable inclusive economic  development; solution of humanitarian problems - the issue of  exchange of detainees, return of refugees, preservation of the  historical and cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh. "In this  process, a special role is assigned to the institutions of the UN and  other international organizations, as well as the institutions of  civil society of the parties concerned. The solution of these tasks  will allow moving on to negotiations on a comprehensive political  settlement, to solving a particularly sensitive issue of the status  of Nagorno-Karabakh acceptable to the warring parties," - Tasits  remarked.

Meanwhile, director of the Baku Network Center for International  Policy and Security, Gulnara Mamezade, believes that, despite the  difficulties of the transition period, the new reality that is being  formed in the region allows us to talk about the prospects for a  restart of relations. "And the moment has come when the states of the  region must formulate a positive agenda," Mamedzade said, adding that  the structure she heads is working on a number of projects related to  establishing communications between experts and the media communities  of Armenia and Azerbaijan, including with the involvement of Russian  and Georgian partners. ...

And the head of the Armenian NGO "Development and Integration" Aram  Safaryan stressed that efforts to end the military confrontation in  Nagorno-Karabakh showed that Russia is the most authoritative and  influential player in the South Caucasus, the only country from the  OSCE Minsk Group member states that can encourage active peaceful and  humanitarian actions of the warring parties. According to Safaryan,  this trend should be picked up by the structures of public diplomacy  in Russia to create platforms for dialogue and direct contacts  between representatives of expert communities, leaders of public  opinion in Azerbaijan and Armenia in order to restore trust and  good-neighborly relations.

Elshad Mamedov, deputy director of the Russian School of Economics,  professor at AzEU, is sure that the fact of the conclusion of a  trilateral agreement, the region for the first time in thirty years  has got real chances for an economic breakthrough. This applies to  all countries in the region, provided they are focused on deepening  regional economic integration. According to the expert, Russia should  act as the moderator of the process. He also emphasized the priority  importance of developing not only the transport and logistics hub of  the South Caucasus, but also industrial cooperation in the areas of  import substitution, the development of its own high-tech potential.

In turn, political scientist, lecturer at Tbilisi State University  Archil Sikharulidze explained Georgia's neutral position in the  development of events in Nagorno-Karabakh by adherence to the concept  of "radical Europeanization". "In recent decades, Georgia has been  actively seeking to become a part of the West and turns a blind eye  to what is happening in the region," he said. And expert-economist  Demur Giorkhelidze, sharing his vision of the future of the region,  expressed his conviction that it lies in the single economic zone of  the South Caucasus. Remaining scattered, the states of the region may  lose their subjectivity, Giorkhelidze is sure.

The roundtable participants agreed that the future of the South  Caucasus fits into the global trend of regionalization: the countries  of the region should more actively form their own agenda and, based  on mutual interest, intensify economic integration and intraregional  cooperation.  A constructive exchange of views between leading  regional experts (political scientists, economists) from Armenia,  Azerbaijan, Russia and Georgia took place in an atmosphere of trust  and mutual understanding.  The meeting participants supported the  initiative of the North-South Political Science Center to organize a  dialogue platform and expressed interest in the development of  professional expert communications on the current agenda of the South  Caucasus.