Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Although there have been much expectations from the new government of Armenia that came to power after a velvet revolution last April, nothing new has changed in the process of solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“There has been much speculation about the meaning of the so-called velvet revolution in Armenia in 2018, in Baku, Moscow, Washington, Ankara, Paris and London,” Thomas Goltz, journalist, professor at the University of Montana, believes.

Goltz refrained to comment on fundamental differences in the visions over the solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict demonstrated by previous Armenian authorities and the post-revolutionary team of Pashinyan, preferring to "wait and see".

“I refrain to join the speculators' Club,” he said in an interview with Azernews.

He noted that the Armenian government’s attempt to include the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh representatives” to the negotiation process is a delaying tactic for more than 25 years.

He was commenting on the persistent statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the need to involve the puppet authorities of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" in the negotiation process.

Goltz said the Armenian authorities beginning from Levon Ter Petrosyan to Nikol Pashinyan have consistently tried to include the so-called "Artsakh" in the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace negotiations, so the statement of current authorities is nothing new.

Azerbaijan rejects to include the self-proclaimed entity in Karabakh in the peace talks, referring to previously agreed format of negotiations between the parties through mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group.

At the same time, Goltz stressed that the Armenians were clearly surprised and disappointed with the April 2016 clashes.

As to the last statement of the Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan about the possibility of moving military operations to the territory of Azerbaijan, he underlined that a senior minister of any government in the world, particularly a defense minister, must be taken seriously by its rivals, including Azerbaijani one.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. The UN Security Council adopted relevant resolutions related to the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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

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