Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – The risk of a resumption of military action between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh is rising by the day and will further increase in fall, a Russian analyst has warned.

"If… the West does not take any steps, issue terse statements, take firm steps within the [mediating OSCE] Minsk Group, in my opinion, the risk of a new war in Karabakh will rise further in fall," Alexander Skakov was quoted by Novosti Armenii news agency as saying in Yerevan.

Regarding ways the warfare could be waged, Skakov said military operations would last two weeks at the most.

"No one would let this war last longer. And within two weeks neither side would be able to gain a critical advantage and reach its goals," the analyst said.

The Karabakh conflict emerged during the last few years of the Soviet Union. 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war. Efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.