Global conflict between democracies and dictatorships: Ukrainian journalist Portnikov on events in Caucasus and Middle East

He said this on the air of Great Lviv Speaks YouTube channel.

"Russia has the ability to influence the post-Soviet space, to provoke conflicts, such as between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which resulted in the tragedy of tens of thousands of people who were forced to leave their places of origin in Nagorno-Karabakh. The people who left these territories, regardless of what they say about the issue of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, have lived in their homes for hundreds of years. Everything is simple: this is a global conflict between democracies and dictatorships," Portnikov said.

He also noted that the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh is not governed by international law.

"In the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, you understand this clearly - because international law is on the side of Azerbaijan, and tens of thousands of people are fleeing their homes," the journalist explains.

According to him, the situation in the Middle East is another example of the confrontation between dictatorship and democracy, in which Ukraine should take the side of democracy.

"The conflict between Israel and Gaza (Gaza is not a part of Israel, it is the territory of a future Palestinian state to be established at some point) is not a question of borders, their restoration or international law. But it is a conflict between those who promote the transformation of the world into a dictatorial one and those who want the world to remain democratic. And in this situation, Ukraine must either try to stay on the side of the democratic world or prepare to disappear from the political map of the world as such," he says.