Russia will move backward at a certain moment - Karen Sargsyan

ArmInfo. At a certain moment, but not now, Russia will move backward. Evidence thereof is Russia's stagnant economy and the general situation in the country and  society, sociologist Karen Sargsyan told ArmInfo. 

"Well aware of the difficulties in the context of the latest  developments, let us, however, try to analyze the current situation.  Russian troops have been present in Donetsk and Luhansk for years. I  do not think Kiev has considered it vitally important to regain  control of the regions for the past eight years. It is not at all a  hindrance to Ukraine's development - its socio-economic progress. The  territories remain annexed, and the world will go on viewing them,  along with the Crimea, as parts of Ukraine - until Ukraine sees  better times," Mr Sargsyan said. 

The point is that by annexing part of Ukraine's territory Russia will  lose entire Ukraine, first of all the Ukrainians as a society. In  this context, Mr Sargsyan stresses that the Russian leader is  attempting to link the ongoing developments with Lenin, Bolshevism,  Ukraine's leadership - whoever it may be. However, he is turning a  blind eye to the core of the problem: what matters is not who is  holding the reins of power in Ukraine, but the fact that the  Ukrainian society itself said "NO" to Russia long ago. 

And it is Russia's actions toward Ukraine and Ukrainians for the last  decades that largely account to this "NO". And further mutual efforts  resulted in a border drawn between the Ukrainians and Russians - "we"  and "they." And a similar border between Armenians and Azerbaijanis  was drawn decades ago.   

"And, of course, western sanctions against Russia - and they will  only become harsher. And the US and Great Britain are already  announcing them. France is still silent, and Macron is insulted by  the results of his talks with Putin. I think the sanctions are a much  stronger argument than they are considered to be. We should realize  that the West's discontent with Russia's revisionism has reached its  climax," Mr Sargsyan said.