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ARMINFO, August 1, 2017

David Stepanyan. The prospect of projecting the Russian-American confrontation in the South Caucasus contains additional threats for Armenia.

The founder of the Armenian Institute for International Affairs and Security AIISA Stepan Safaryan expressed such opinion."I do not think that Moscow and Washington in their current confrontation are able to declare a direct war to each other.That was not even during the Cold War, it was never, since it is not profitable for either side to declare war, it simply does not come from them Interests, "he said. However, the prolonged confrontation, the latest evidence of which, according to the analyst, is the extension of sanctions against Russia announced by the State Department, has the prerequisites in favor of continuing confrontation in other theaters, like Syria and Ukraine.In this light, Safaryan does not exclude that the South Caucasus and Armenia and Artsakh, including, can become just such an area.

Considering the presence of the Karabakh conflict, which has not died out, reconciliation of the participants in this confrontation seems to the analyst to be not the easiest thing."Due to its geographic position, Armenia can not hope for only one power center to overcome the numerous challenges it faces, which is why both of these areas -the United States and Russia - are of great strategic importance for us." In this light, the confrontation between these two major centers Force creates additional risks for Armenia, "the analyst summed up. On August 1, US Vice President Michael Pence told reporters that President Donald Trump "will sign a bill to strengthen US sanctions against Russia very soon."

The vice president of the United States called for the lifting of sanctions "by the Kremlin's fulfillment of its obligations," regretfully stressing that Russia's recent diplomatic moves are telling the opposite.Earlier, the Senate of the US Congress voted in support of the bill to expand sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea. For their entry into force, the document is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump.