The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict depends exclusively on the economic state of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Head of Modus Vivendi Research Center Ara Papyan told journalists on Friday.
He said that the key reason why the Vienna meeting of the Armenian and Azeri presidents gave no results is that the parties have very different approaches to the problem. So, Papyan advises Armenia to reject the Madrid principles offering it to give territories in exchange for peace.
"For the moment Azerbaijan is not ready for war as it is running short of oil and is facing economic problems. But the Azeris are very crafty – by continuing to arm themselves they seek to implicate Armenia in the arms race and thereby to shatter the country's economy. In fact, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a struggle for survival between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the winner here will be the party who will be more crafty and more successful economically," Papyan said.