YEREVAN (PanArmenian)–Armenia’should recognize the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic before Russia can make any serious changes in its policy toward the republic, Head of the Caucasus Department at the Institute for CIS Studies Mikhail Alexandrov said on Thursday.
Armenia’s current position is that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic should be independent, he explained, adding that Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian will stand firmly in defense of the national interests of the Armenian people in that regard.
“But it’s another matter whether Karabakh will join Armenia as a confederation or function as an independent state,” Alexandrov added.
According to him Armenia will ask Russia to adopt a more favorable position on Karabakh based on current developmen’s with the situations in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where Russia has pledged to back the separatist states in a row between Georgia.
But before Russia expects Armenia to be the first to recognize the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic before it makes any decision on its policy toward the unrecognized Armenian republic, Alexandrov said.