Azernews.Az

BAKU – The situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia could be resolved if all of the parties involved realized the fact that the paradigm of the 21st century promotes multi-ethnicity and unity in diversity, a senior Azerbaijani strategist has told Today's Zaman.

The region, and the issues surrounding especially the South Caucasus, is not an easy one to manage, says Gulshan Pashayeva, deputy director of the Center for Strategic Studies in an interview.

Pashayeva indicates that Turkey and Azerbaijan are cooperating on a variety of issues pertaining to the South Caucasus region and adds that currently more should be done in order to solve the knotty issue that exists between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashayeva mentions that Armenia should realize that today's realities are much different from those of 1994.

"Azerbaijan has greatly developed politically, economically and militarily since then. Balance of power between Azerbaijan and Armenia has dramatically changed.

"At the same time it is good to hear the voices of the people like Levon Ter-Petrossian, giving interviews to the Western media where at least we can hear Armenians who provide more rational assessments about current situation in Armenia," she said.

According to Pashayeva, should there be any kind of progress on Armenian Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh then it will be possible to open the borders to Armenia from both sides, the Turkish and Azerbaijani sides, which in turn will benefit all parties in helping them further.

According to Pashayeva, one of the main gaps that exist between Azerbaijan and Turkey is the assumption that the two sides know each other thoroughly. "It seems we are very similar to each other and know each other very well, perhaps because of existence of ethnic, linguistic and cultural ties. However, there are some differences as well which can create misunderstandings at times," she explains.