Analyst: Brussels has no mandate, but has a plan

ArmInfo.Not having a mandate for a mediation mission to resolve the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the EU has a clear plan in this process. A similar  opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by Fyodor Lukyanov, research  director at the International Valdai discussion club, member of  presidium of Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).

"All three meetings in Brussels are part of this plan, the purpose  of which is to carry out a mediation mission in essence with the  accompanying goal of protecting the interests of the EU and the  United States in this settlement. And the very fact that none of the  co-chair countries denies their role in the OSCE Minsk Group  demonstrates that all three countries understand the situation in  which only the Minsk Group has the only mandate to mediate between  Yerevan and Baku," he said.

Based on the analysis of the statements made in Brussels, the analyst  singled out among them the intention to postpone the resolution of  the issue of the status of Artsakh for the future. According to him,  the EU is now exclusively interested in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations  in the regional context. And, in his opinion, the prospects for the  current process largely depend on how and when the war in Ukraine  ends and, of course, on what agreements were reached by Yerevan and  Baku earlier.  

In this light, Lukyanov considers the strengthening of the dialogue  between Armenia and Azerbaijan a possible task for the EU. First of  all, because it will allow Brussels not to constantly deal with the  conflict, but to work for its final settlement, of course, it would  be preferable without Moscow's participation.  

"If Russia and the EU are not involved in all this, by and large, it  does not matter how the conflict will be resolved. The main thing is  that its parties come to an agreement in the form of a peace  agreement.  This is the goal of Brussels. But whether it will happen,  depends on the outcome of the Ukrainian developments and how all this  will end for the Russian Federation. So the stakes are quite high,  which, among other things, is evidenced by the readiness of the EU to  implement social and economic assistance programs in the region. Not  to mention the positions of the parties to the conflict for which it  is not the solution of the conflict that is paramount, but on what  specific conditions it will be resolved," the analyst summed up.