Friday, June 21 2019 18:21

ArmInfo. I consider optimistic about the achievement of a breakthrough in the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement in the near future. This opinion on June 21 at a press conference in Yerevan was expressed by leading researcher at the Center for Euro-Atlantic Security at the Institute of International Studies at Moscow State Institute for International Relations, Sergey Markedonov

According to him, there is no need to absolutize the fact of reducing tensions at the front line and reducing incidents, as the calm has its limits. "I believe that we should not lose sight of the incidents occurring on the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is more dangerous. What is being negotiated today is rather a process of managing conflicts, rather than finding ways to resolve it. The status quo is unacceptable, as everyone emphasizes, but no one offered an alternative to it, " the Russian expert said.

According to him, the parties to the conflict take a maximalist position on resolving the problem and, based on this, he still does not see a compromise solution that would suit all parties to the conflict. Markedonov believes that in the Karabakh conflict the situation for a very long time can balance in the regime of neither peace nor war - so to speak in the regime of a dynamic status quo.

The political scientist also disagrees with the allegations that the Karabakh conflict is in Russia's hands.  Resolving the Karabakh problem will open up many opportunities for Moscow. This and bilateral cooperation will open the possibility of Azerbaijan's membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and much more. It is necessary to understand that the role of Moscow does not boil down to the format of the OSCE Minsk Group, it is much wider, "he said.

Touching upon some of the tensions that arose between Artsakh and Armenia, Markedonov stated that, despite the fact that Artsakh is not a recognized republic, but, nevertheless, it is not the territory of the Republic of Armenia. According to him, it is clear that in Artsakh they look at the revolutionary processes in Armenia with some caution, which is quite understandable, since they are troops, in other words, the front line. "Pashinyan is a good technologist, he takes serious, decisive steps, however, often some of his decisions create big problems for him," he concluded.