Nagorno-Karabakh conflict requires tremendous efforts from Azerbaijan, Armenia [EXCLUSIVE]

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a long process that requires tremendous efforts from both Azerbaijan and Armenia, Russian expert, President of the Center for Social and Political Studies ("Aspect") Georgy Fyodorov said in an interview with Azernews.

Commenting on the results of the recent meeting of the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian foreign ministers in Moscow, he said the fact that the meeting took place in this format is already good, the dialogue has been established and continues.

He stressed that a significant achievement at this stage was the preliminary agreement on establishing contacts between people, including mutual visits of media representatives, as well as measures for the admission of relatives to persons held in custody on the territory of the parties.

Regarding the points of contact between the current Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities, Fyodorov noted that there are still many unresolved issues, but this is already noticeable progress in relations between the two countries.

"On the other hand, no one says the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved in an instant. This is a long process that requires tremendous efforts from both Armenia and Azerbaijan," the expert believes.

Speaking about Armenian intention to delay the solution of the conflict and an attempt to maintain the status quo, Fyodorov expressed regret that mistrust remains the main obstacle to solving the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

He noted that reciprocal accusations, attempts to convict an opponent of a dishonest game do not lead to an improvement in such situation, but only aggravate an already protracted conflict.

Analyzing the Statement of the Minister of Defense Tonoyan about the possibility of transferring military operations to the territory of Azerbaijan, the expert thinks that such statements, especially those made in an informal setting, are not a cause for concern.

"This is a policy, and the Armenian minister wants to demonstrate he is capable of performing the functions assigned to the Ministry," said Fyodorov, adding that such statements do not contribute to reducing tensions between the two countries. Therefore, officials should not make such statements if countries want to overcome existing contradictions.

Answering a question about fundamental differences in the vision of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution between the previous authorities and the post-revolutionary Pashinyan team, Fyodorov said he can evaluate only on the real steps that official Yerevan takes.

"At this stage, it cannot be said that the policy of the current leadership of Armenia regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is fundamentally different from the policy of their predecessors," the expert concluded.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 

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