ArmInfo.The West has a desire to get involved in the settlement of the current problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But there is no such opportunity. Alexander Skakov, expert on Caucasus, Deputy Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, expressed such an opinion to ArmInfo.
"The current situation on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan is close to a dead end. In general, the problem arose after the transfer of the Kelbajar region to Azerbaijan, which led to the creation of a virtually undefined border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This in fact has led to the need of demarcation and delimitation," he stressed.
Commenting on the issue of the ownership of the territories of Armenia, on which the Azerbaijani military continue to stand today, Skakov referred to the absence of one Soviet map, which would allow defining the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to him, there are many such maps and the differences in their data are a rather serious problem. First of all, since it allows each of the parties to refer to exclusively those Soviet maps, which they consider advantageous in order to prove the ownership of Black Lake (Sev Lich).
Noting the absence of a single, universally recognized map, which allows resolving the issue without disputes, the Caucasian expert determined the existence of the current deadlock by this fact. At the same time, he expressed his conviction that all issues should be resolved by the parties through negotiations and necessarily with the mediation of Moscow. In this light, he noted that the Syunik region of Armenia is the zone of responsibility of the Russian border guards, who are already participating in the process of determining the borders.
Noting the absence of a single, universally recognized map, which allows resolving the issue without disputes, the Caucasian expert determined the existence of the current deadlock by this fact. At the same time, he expressed his conviction that all issues should be resolved by the parties through negotiations and necessarily with the mediation of Moscow. In this light, he noted that the Syunik region of Armenia is the zone of responsibility of the Russian border guards, who are already participating in the process of determining the borders.
"The process is being delayed for obvious reasons, and we see that this causes discontent in Armenia. In this light, the visit of the acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan to Paris and Brussels is noteworthy. Apparently, in Yerevan there is an intention to attract the West, in particular, the European Union, in the process of determining the borders with Azerbaijan. This is evidenced by the statements and proposals from Paris and Brussels that followed Pashinyan's visit, "he stressed. June 1 in Paris, acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with French President Emmanuel Macron, Speaker of the French National Assembly Richard Ferrand, Senate President Gerard Larcher, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. On June 2, Pashinyan went to Brussels, where he met with his Belgian counterpart Alexander de Croo.
Meanwhile, according to the Caucasian expert, Moscow still acts in the direction of achieving a way out of the current situation, but acts more in a non-public space. First of all, due to the complexity of the task and the problems set before it by Yerevan and Baku. And unlike the West, it has levers and mechanisms for this in relations with both sides of the conflict. And the current proposal of Russia to determine the borders, in his opinion, as a whole, is the best possible way to conduct further negotiations towards a settlement.
"And finally, the most important thing. The EU's desire to take part in the settlement of border problems does not meet with any desire in Baku to meet them halfway. We see that Baku, unlike Yerevan, feels quite comfortable in the current trilateral settlement format with the participation of Russia. Thus, the presence in the West of a desire to get involved in the settlement of the current problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not mean at all that such an opportunity will be provided by Baku, "the Caucasian expert summed up.