Former US OSCE Minsk Group mediator sees dynamics in Karabakh talks

ArmInfo. The most right strategy in moving forward in Karabakh conflict settlement issue is moving by small steps. The former co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group  from the USA, Ambassador Richard Hoagland, stated this in an  interview with Voice of America.

In his opinion, the new authorities of Armenia use the right tactics  in the Karabakh settlement. At the same time, according to the  diplomat, the Karabakh conflict for Pashinyan is a very difficult  problem: "After so many years Armenia's leader is not from Karabakh,  thus he must be very attentive not to make radical changes but  approach the issue step by step," Hoagland said.  ". According to  him, the positive dialogue is already ongoing dialogue between the  parties and a sharp reduction in incidents in the conflict zone.  However, he advises not to wait for serious breakthroughs.

Referring to the so-called "Lavrov's project" , the American diplomat  remarked that he was not approved by any of the parties. According to  him, this document was based on the Madrid principles with some  differences: ""The main difference is the proposal of conduction of  referendum in Nagorno Karabakh and in the Azerbaijani settlements  where displaced Azerbaijanis live," Hoagland said, adding that the  document has not been approved by the sides due to absence of exact  date for conduction of referendum.  The former co-chair also stressed  that besides serious disagreements over conflict settlement, there  are forces in the region who are not interested in the Karabakh   conflict resolution.  "The real issue is whether the countries of  the region are interested in the regulation of the issue or not. I  think Iran is interested in the resolution of the issue, but does  Russia really interested in it? The answer is not definite," he said,  adding that there are forces in Moscow which think that in case of  Karabakh conflict settlement they will lose important levers of  influence on the sides.