Monday, December 11 2017 16:19

ArmInfo. The Defense College of the North Atlantic Alliance issued a report on the Russian military presence in the South Caucasus and the troops in Armenia.

According to the report, the model of Moscow's military positioning  in the region consists of two components: the use of mechanisms of  limited access, which include the creation of a strong and self-  sufficient local air defense system capable of intercepting NATO  aircraft, as well as tactical and operational missiles (such  interceptors are available from Russia in Armenia in Gyumri, as well  as at the air base in Erebuni) and deployment of attack complexes  based on Iskander-M missiles, as well as strike aviation systems.

The experts of the college are convinced that Russia is using the  principle of three "Confrontation, Cooperation, Confusion" with the  aim of reintegrating the South Caucasus. They remind that there are  three frozen conflicts in the region, namely, in Nagorno-Karabakh,  Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the settlement of which is not expected  in the foreseeable future. "Russia applies these principles to  Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan with respect to Baku and Yerevan,  Russia specifically applies a balancing system, deliberately sending  conflicting political messages, selling weapons and providing  political cover on a number of complex issues of regional security.   And in such complex  maneuvering and consists of the strength and  great potential of Moscow to maintain the status quo in the region,  "the Alliance experts write, and in this context they emphasize that  it is in this that the omission of NATO, which does not have such  tools.

At the same time, the report emphasizes that the strategic importance  of the Russian bastion in Armenia depends on the deployment of the  Iskander-M missile systems there, which, being equipped with missiles  of the Iskander-K type (the incorrect NATO designation of the Russian  cruise missile R-500), may violate the requirements of the Treaty on  the Elimination of Missiles of medium and short range.

Experts note that after Turkey shot down the Russian Su-24, Moscow  increased the number of the 102nd military base in Armenia. "However,  after Russian-Turkish relations normalized, to the point that Ankara  can buy from Moscow the S-400 system, the presence of Russian troops  and advanced weapon systems in Armenia was not abbreviated, which is  not accidental, since Russia's geopolitical interests and Turkey  diverge in many areas, beginning with Central Asia and ending with  the South Caucasus, "NATO experts say, who also believe that the  Karabakh conflict is one of those issues around which Ankara and  Moscow may face confrontation.  The report also notes that the April  war in Nagorno-Karabakh has changed the geopolitical situation in the  region, and Moscow's delivery of Iskanders to Yerevan is not  accidental, but is aimed at preserving levers of influence in the  region.

The report also notes that Russia's arms deals with Iran and  Azerbaijan on supplying high-tech weapons, such as the S-300 and  S-400 anti-aircraft systems, not only place the Trans Caucasian  states in dependence on the will of Moscow, but indirectly pressure  on Turkey, with which negotiations are currently in progress to buy  modern Russian air defense systems, which causes considerable concern  and alarm in NATO.