Azernews.Az

BAKU – The OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh has failed to achieve result in the peace process so far despite numerous rounds of talks, a leading US analyst has said in Baku.

Addressing a debate at the Strategic Research Center under the Azerbaijani President on Friday, University of Haifa professor Brenda Shaffer said the Minsk Group holds frequent discussions, which have not yielded any fruit to date.

"The main point is real actions. The Minsk Group’s meetings and discussions are not fostering any real change," Shaffer told the roundtable, entitled "Barack Obama’s administration and the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh".

The analyst also said Russia’s position was pivotal for reaching a solution of the Karabakh conflict.

"Russia is the most suitable force here. It has levers of influence upon Armenia. Both conflict parties have to be influenced to reach a solution. A change in the Russian stance could play a major role in resolving the conflict."

The Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 due to Armenia’s territorial claims. Azerbaijan and Armenia waged a brutal war which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces since a ceasefire was signed in 1994. Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.