Russian MP Considers Military Balance a Guarantee for Peaceful Resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh Issue

The Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Kosachov, believes that in any conflict, an imbalance in forces can destabilize the situation. Kosachov made this statement in response to a question from Armenpress at a press conference held on December 18 at the National Assembly of Armenia, addressing the arms sales to the Republic of Azerbaijan by the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Russia, and Belarus.

“In any conflict, not only in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the situation is actually destabilized by an imbalance of forces, when one side has either a real opportunity or a delusion that it can achieve victory in a military conflict. In our deep conviction, the military balance in this region is one of the material guarantees to keep this conflict in a non-military state,” said Kosachov.

He added that Russia cooperates with Armenia and Azerbaijan under different circumstances, but refusing to sell arms to Azerbaijan could lead to undesirable consequences. “We cooperate with Armenia and Azerbaijan in the military-technical field under different circumstances. Armenia is both a partner and an ally of Russia, whereas we do not have such relations with Azerbaijan. However, refusing to cooperate could bring two undesirable consequences for the prospects of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. One of those probable consequences is that other suppliers of weapons may emerge for Azerbaijan, which could lead to a demonstration of military hardware to determine which side is stronger. The second is that the military balance of power that currently exists could be disrupted,” the MP noted.