Azernews.Az

The developments in Georgia have shown that cooperation between Russia and the United States within the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), as a means of resolving regional conflicts, is unrealistic, a Washington-based international expert says.
The MG, co-chaired by Russia, the U.S. and France, has sought to broker a settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.
Zeyno Baran, director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the Hudson Institute, said the latest military action in Georgia would substantially affect the positions of both Washington and Moscow in the MG. She predicted that the MG would undergo changes this fall after the presidential elections in the U.S.
Russia sent troops to South Ossetia and pounded Georgian positions on August 8 after Tbilisi launched an offensive to retake the self-proclaimed, pro-Russian region. A ceasefire was, subsequently, reached to end five days of deadly fighting.
The Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim told the press Monday that Russia`s estrangement from the OSCE MG is not on agenda.
He recalled that President Ilham Aliyev adheres to a clear-cut stance on maintaining good neighborliness and friendship relations with the country`s northern neighbor.
Ibrahim emphasized that Russia is not a party to the Garabagh conflict. "Therefore, estranging it from co-chairmanship in the MG is not under consideration. Azerbaijan continues to maintain neighborly and friendly ties with both Russia and NATO."