In fact, violence along the Line of Contact and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border has escalated significantly in the last two years, with 2015 being the deadliest year in the conflict since the ceasefire was signed in 1994, according to the US Gen.
“Regarding Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russia is part of the Minsk Group process, aimed at resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Despite this, Moscow has actually increased instability in the region by selling arms to Azerbaijan while maintaining a troop presence in Armenia,” he added.
Gen. Breedlove said that Russia modulates this conflict by manipulating its support to the participants, while engaging in diplomatic efforts in order to preserve its influence the affected regions.
Russian uses of unresolved conflicts as a foreign policy tool, he noted. “Describing the prolonged conflicts in states around the Russian periphery as “frozen” belies the fact that these are on-going and deadly affairs often manufactured by Russia to provide pretext for military intervention and ensures the Kremlin maintains levels of influence in the sovereign matters of other states,” Breedlove said.
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