Russian Presidential candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky yesterday afternoon addressed a press conference in the centre of Mosocw about Russia's domestic politics and the forthcoming Presidential vote.
Zhirinovsky found time however also to share his views on the future of the South Caucasus. "Azerbaijan and Armenia can not solve the Nagorno Karabakh problem without Russia. Therefore I will propose Azerbaijan and Armenia to join Russia as a Trans-Caucasian Federal Region. Governorship of this federal region should be given to Azerbaijan because of population size, but the deputy governor can be elected among the Armenians. If Azerbaijan and Armenia don’t accept this proposal, we will recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabakh." APA quoted him as saying to one of its journalists.
Zhirinovsky is also expected soon to make a pronouncement on the current political situation in South Ossetia. Presidential candidate Alla Dzhioyeva said yesterday that she was planning to appeal to the Russian presidential hopefuls to give a legal assessment of the ruling by the republic's Supreme Court, which annulled the results of the November 2011 election. "If such an assessment is given, it will be clear that the ruling is a meaningless piece of paper. An assessment from Vladimir Zhirinovsky, an experienced lawyer, will be sufficient," Dzhioyeva said.
Commonspace.eu political editor said in a comment "Zhirinovsky is often dismissed as a joke, but he is in fact an important part of the Russian political landscape. His controversial views reflect a body of opinion in Russia, and he often says things that other politicians think but do not dare to say. This is not the first time that Zhirinovsky has made controversial statements about the South Caucasus. The Kremlin has for many years given Zhirinovsky space to operate in the Russian political landscape because he takes away support from more dangerous far right elements. Quite why he has chosen this moment to renew his interest in the Caucasus however is not clear."
source: commonspace.eu with APA and Itar-Tass
photo: Russian Presidential candidate Vladimir Zhirinovski (foreground) with party delegates at a meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party (picture courtesy of the Russian Liberal Democratic Party)
