Wednesday, April 10 2019 17:31

ArmInfo.From the wording of "territory in exchange for peace", it follows that only Armenians need this very world and are completely unnecessary to Azerbaijanis.  Director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan expressed such opinion to ArmInfo.

"This, of course, does not correspond to reality. At the same time, Baku, in exchange for these same territories, gives nothing besides a rhetorical promise not to attack Armenians. It is clear that resolving the conflict on the basis of such a dubious base for Armenians of Armenia and Artsakh is unacceptable. Baku's turn refuses to even discuss the granting of legal status to Artsakh in exchange for all the same territories, although it is precisely such a settlement formulation that could be discussed and even have some prospects for implementation, "he stressed.

Nevertheless, recent meetings of heads of state and foreign ministers, according to political analyst, show that the negotiation process is still going on. It is rather complicated in the first place due to the presence of two, different from each other approaches of the parties to the conflict. Thus, Azerbaijan approaches the conflict exclusively as a territorial dispute, demanding territory and ignoring the people living in these territories. The Armenian parties see in Artsakh not only the territory, but also the people living there.  Accordingly, seeing a reasonable need for their participation in determining their own destiny.

"Best of all, this position, in my opinion, managed to be shaped by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who voiced and argued that it was impossible to represent the interests of the Artsakh people as head of Armenia. Only those endowed with the Artsakh people can and should be represented by such a right in elections. And is the Republic of Artsakh recognized whether the international community or not, this is a secondary issue, "said Iskandaryan.

At the same time, on the whole, the position of Armenia regarding the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, according to the political scientist, has not undergone any special changes in comparison with the legislature of the previous president of Armenia. As the content of the Armenian-Russian allied relations did not undergo fundamental changes. Iskandaryan thinks that Armenia and Russia still need each other, both under Serzh Sargsyan and under Nikol Pashinyan. In this light, Iskandaryan does not see any particular moves towards the resolution of the Karabakh conflict in the foreseeable future.

Since 1992, the OSCE Minsk Group has been involved in resolving the Karabakh conflict, represented by the co-chairs from Russia, the United States and France. At present, the settlement process is proceeding on the basis of the Madrid Principles put forward by the OSCE Minsk Group in 2007 and the Madrid Principles updated in 2009, which, among other things, provide for the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent in the conflict zone.