Some kind of escalation is to be expected, but there will not be a large-scale war yet, Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Institute, told NEWS.am on the program the Power Factor.
He connected it with the fact that Russian peacekeepers are deployed around Nagorno-Karabakh.
“If Azerbaijan starts a large-scale war, it will be necessary to kill not only Armenians but also Russians. In that case, Russia will have to react, even if it is not very desired. It is with this understanding that Aliyev does not do so. That is the reason for the salami tactics and constant pressure,” the expert explained.
He believes that Azerbaijan will exert pressure on Armenia and NKR in every possible way.
“It will be discursive pressure in the form of statements that there is no Nagorno-Karabakh and so on, diplomatic pressure through third forces, through Russia, Europe, Turkey and so on. Besides, escalations similar to what happened last September are also possible. There will also be various forms of pressure in the form of blackouts, gas cuts and so on. This will continue,” Iskandaryan concluded.