DISINFO: A strong external player is trying to create an "arc of instability" around Russia
SUMMARY
There are hotbeds of tension throughout the post-Soviet space. We are talking about states that are not just Russia’s neighbours. These are countries that have partner relations with Russia. Many are again discussing the arc of instability, the State Department’s naphthalene plan to increase tensions on the Russian borders. A strong external player is trying to create a kind of “arc of instability” next to Russia.
RESPONSE
The article appeared in the context of the recent escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh which is a continuation of the decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This conspiracy theory is hinting that the escalation of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the result of deliberate Western actions aimed at harming Russia and its interests. It, therefore, corresponds to recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the belligerent and hostile US and West and fits well into the disinformation narrative that presents virtually all protests, civil uprisings, or local conflicts as a consequence of the West's intentional actions. Read similar cases on "colour revolutions"; for example the claim that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favours US interests, someone wants to divert Russia from Belarus and Syria, that The escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is directed against Russia, or that the US embassy in Armenia is a mini-Pentagon escalating tension in the region and the Middle East.