Mike Pompeo: Establishing a ceasefire in Karabakh is on the agenda of  the Washington meetings

ArmInfo. The situation in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is difficult. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters today. A difficult situation has  developed in the diplomatic sector, added the Secretary of State, who  will hold separate meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and  Azerbaijan next Friday, the Voice of America reports.

The publication reminds that on Friday the US Secretary of State will  hold separate meetings with his Armenian and Azeri counterparts in  Washington. The main topic of discussion is the establishment of a  ceasefire.

According to the head of the State Department, the United States,  along with its partners, continues to insist that a ceasefire is the  only sure way. Third countries should refrain from participating in  the conflict. A ceasefire is on the agenda of the Washington  meetings.

As the newspaper also reminds, on October 10, the conflicting parties  reached an agreement on a ceasefire after a meeting in Moscow with  the mediation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which lasted  about 11 hours. The ceasefire was not respected. About a week later,  a second ceasefire attempt failed again several hours later. Bloody  battles continue in the zone of the Karabakh conflict.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Voice of America, Richard Weitz ,  senior fellow and director of the Center for Political-Military  Analysis at Hudson Institute, emphasizes that we must not forget that  we are talking about a humanitarian ceasefire, not a general  established ceasefire. According to the analyst, the main reason for  non-compliance with the ceasefire is the desire of the Azerbaijani  side to take control of as many territories as possible. According to  him, one of the lesser factors is the actions of the military command  of the parties on the ground.

"Azerbaijan believes that during hostilities it can occupy more  territory, so they have no incentive to end hostilities. "More  territory means stronger bargaining power," Weitz said.

According to  former US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Carey  Cavanaugh , the mediation mission to establish a ceasefire is a  rather difficult task. Public opinion on the compromise is largely  negative, which prevents the establishment of a ceasefire. He claims  that there is no military solution to the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict.

"I think the only correct answer for all parties is to return to the  negotiating table and work to find a compromise solution that will  lead to lasting peace,"  Cavanaugh  said.

To recall, before the meetings in Washington, the foreign ministers  of Armenia and Azerbaijan flew to Moscow, where they held separate  meetings with  Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation  Sergey Lavrov. The agenda of the meeting was the situation around the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and issues related to the ceasefire. At the  meeting, RA Foreign Minister Mnatsakanyan stressed the need to  establish a stable ceasefire regime with the help of control  mechanisms.  To note, before the meetings in Washington, the  agreements on the humanitarian ceasefire, which remained ink on  paper, were reached first with the mediation of Russia and then  France.