ArmInfo.Last April's "four-day war" in the zone of the Karabakh conflict radically changed the security atmosphere in the region, just as on September 11 radically changed Washington's attitude to world security. Such an opinion on September 11 in Yerevan at the round table "Security and Diplomacy in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. The new stage?" Expressed the head of the Center for Regional Studies Richard Kirakosyan.
According to him, new realities have emerged in the new regional landscape and a high level of spontaneous resumption of hostilities remains, there are no proper mechanisms to deter the parties from a forceful solution of the issue and the political will of the parties to continue the diplomatic process.
Referring to the OSCE activities, the analyst expressed regret by the fact that Baku managed to close the Organization's Yerevan office, thus undermining the security bulwark in the region. According to him, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs can not act as an arbitrator and make targeted statements, since they must maintain a balance, and can only assist the parties in finding ways to resolve the conflict, through proposals and initiatives, but with the political will of the parties.
Referring to the role of the US in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict as a co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Kirakosian stated that the position of Washington and the Trump administration on this issue remains uncertain, which undoubtedly affects the process of conflict settlement. "There is a tendency to reduce US influence in the OSCE Minsk Group on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and the growing role of Russia," the expert believes.
At the same time, he is convinced that the OSCE Minsk Group needs to confirm the need to resolve the conflict through mutual concessions and compromises. According to him, increasingly these issues are becoming secondary, and more often the parties talk about missed opportunities, priority is given to such tendencies in positions that there is no need for mutual concessions. "It is necessary to move away from militaristic rhetoric and return to the negotiating table. A new dynamic has been registered, where there is a high probability of resumption of hostilities and the failure of diplomatic efforts," said Kirakosyan. In this context, he added that the Armenian government should adhere to the adopted course on the conflict settlement by returning surrounding territories in exchange for the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
ArmInfo. The "sanctioning war" between the United States and Russia will be quite lengthy. The director of the Center for Regional Studies Richard Kirakosyan expressed this opinion to ArmInfo.
ArmInfo. Participation of Armenia in NATO trainings taking place in Georgia is dictated by the need to deepen cooperation with the West in the field of security. The director of Center for Regional Studies Richard Kirakosyan expressed this opinion to ArmInfo.
ArmInfo.Night events on the Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line once again demonstrated the importance of strengthening security elements. This was announced at the conference "NATO from Warsaw to Brussels: Security of People and Security Sector Reform in Armenia" on July 5, Director of the Center for Regional Studies Richard Giragosian.
ArmInfo.Richard Giragosian, the Director of Regional Studies Center, is sure that David Tonoyan, the Minister of Emergency Situations and the Ex-Defense Minister, will lead the Armenian Defense Ministry in the future.
ArmInfo.Armenian and Azerbaijani MFA Ministers meeting showed that Azerbaijan still wants to solve Karabakh conflict in a forceful way, political expert Richard Kirakosyan stated to journalists on May 2, commenting recent meeting of Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammedyarov in Moscow.
Regional Studies Center (RSC) Director Richard Giragosian in an interview to ArmInfo talks about prospects of dialog on Syrian settlement between Russia, Iran and Turkey. He forecasts possible consequences of US isolationism for the countries of South Caucasus, particularly prospects of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. The expert assesses the importance of Iran’s President’s visit to Armenia in the light of the existing situation and new trends in the Caucasus policy of Russia, Israel and Iran.