Thomas De Waal: 2017 may be even more dangerous for settlement of Karabakh problem
By Rashid Shirinov
2016 was a very dangerous year for settlement of the Karabakh problem and this year can be more dangerous in terms of engaging new armaments, said Thomas De Waal, a writer and analyst on the Caucasus, Russia and the Black Sea region and a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Underscoring that there is no alternative for diplomacy for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, the analyst said that the agreement reached in Vienna is the evidence to this, Milli.az reported.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has erupted in April 2016 bringing Armenia and Azerbaijan face to face once again after years of “silence”.
After the meetings of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Vienna and St. Petersburg, which took place after the April clashes, the negotiation process came to the dead end due to the denial of Yerevan to continue serious talks.
The analyst further noted that the basis of the Vienna agreement was strengthening of the mandate on ceasefire, and it was the demand of both the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities.
“However, it did not work, the agreement was not signed. It is obvious that there were mistakes. It is necessary that one of the countries of the OSCE Minsk Group undertakes commitment to achieve the implementation of this agreement,” De Waal said, adding that it should be the Russian side in the face of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
“It is necessary to review the agreements reached after the April War, if we don’t want the conflict to re-start. It isn’t only Russia that must solve the issue, the trilateral format is very important for the US, France. This is an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to effectively cooperate,” he said.
While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.
Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.
The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, but they have not been enforced to this day.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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