Experts says Karabakh conflict sides achieved certain results at recent talks
By Gunay Camal
The sides of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict achieved certain results during the peace talks in Vienna and Saint Petersburg, believes Matthew Bryza, the former US assistant secretary for South Caucasus, ex US ambassador to Azerbaijan.
Bryza, talking to reporters in Baku on July 22, said that the talks not only reduced tension on the contact line of troops, but also led to the beginning of discussions on the political points of the conflict.
He added that the Azerbaijani foreign minister’s statement after negotiations in Vienna and Saint Petersburg also demonstrates that some progress has been achieved during the negotiations.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has met Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan twice since the April escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh, first in Vienna in May, and the second time in St. Petersburg in June along with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Experts have positively assessed the intensification of talks, along with the signs of more constructive spirit of the talks.
Speaking about Moscow’s role in solving the conflict, Bryza said President Putin is really concerned that the April crisis was very serious and poses a great threat to the outbreak of a war, which is unfavorable for Russia.
The diplomat also noted that Putin can play a role of a peacemaker in this conflict.
Russia, a big global player and a member-state of the OSCE Minsk Group established to mediate between the parties to the conflict, recently intensified its efforts in this regard.
Moscow hopes to more clearly define the further steps towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said FM Sergei Lavrov in Baku recently, mentioning that President Putin is satisfied with the negotiations.
Bryza, commenting on statements of some political analysts that the five Armenia-occupied regions may be returned to Azerbaijan until late 2016, said he did not think it could happen so quickly.
Such statements are a pressure on the process, said Bryza, adding he thinks it is not real to realize this step within several months.
For over the past 20 years the OSCE-led Minsk Group is dealing with the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 as a result of Armenia's illegal territorial claims on 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. 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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