This is John Bachelor, a preview of tonight's conversation with Gregory Copling,

defense and foreign affairs. He's traveling. He's in Europe. I asked about the

Armenia Azerbaijan conflict over these last decade, now resolved with Azerbaijan reclaiming

its territory, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the exodus of tens of thousands of Armenian ethnic

Armenians who've been living in this conquered occupied territory for years, fleeing back to

Armenia under the false impression that something violent was coming. My understanding is that

what's coming is a resettlement of Nagorno-Karabakh by those who were displaced 30 years ago in their

families, and then a construction of a new and prosperous land, Armenian people are welcome. However,

I ask Gregory in specific how it is that Russia set this out. You do recall the Soviet Union

dominated all these states for nearly 80 years. The Russian peacekeepers so-called in Nagorno-Karabakh

were seen idling on a balcony over looking at Nagorno-Karabakh, not committing themselves in any

fashion. Was this a loser for Russia? Gregory's answer is complex and specific to the strategy

that the Kremlin has been employing these last years in order to increase its access to markets.

Here's Gregory. Quite the contrary, it's actually moved to a much more dynamic phase. It's yes,

it is tamped down to an extent. It's unequivocal support for Armenia because the Armenians themselves

have proven to be unhelpful even for their own country. They basically sponsored this conflict

with Azerbaijan over the last 30-plus years. But right now, the reason that Russia has not limited

its support for Armenia, but increased its friendship with Azerbaijan is that Azerbaijan has become

a critical link in Russia's international north-south transit corridor that is providing the

riverine ship traffic from St. Petersburg on the Baltic right down through Moscow and down the river

systems to the Kaspian Sea and then down through Dagestan and Azerbaijan to link up with the Iranian

rail system and then over to Bandar Abbas on the Straits of Hormuz and then by sea to India.

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