Expert: June talks can create favorable psychological environment for future meetings

/By Azernews/

By Gunay Camal

Upcoming meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia is very important, as the parties can discuss the implementation of the Vienna agreement, believes Matthew Bryza, the former U.S. assistant secretary for South Caucasus and former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan.

Bryza, sharing with Trend his expectations from the next meeting of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan, however noted that one should not expect an abrupt breakthrough in resolving the conflict.

The May 16 meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents became the first talk since a surge in fighting in early April that killed Azerbaijani civilians and sparked fears of a return to full-scale war.

The presidents agreed on a next round of talks, to be held in June at a place to be mutually agreed, with an aim to resume negotiations on a comprehensive settlement.

Bryza claims that the next round of the peace talks will create a favorable psychological environment for future meetings.

The meeting of the parties after the escalation of the situation in April proves the intention to come to a mutually beneficial solution, according to the ex-ambassador.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will see Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Mammadyarov in Brussels on May 31 and Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Paris on June 2 reportedly to mull details of the June meeting.

Azerbaijan and Armenia called a truce 22 years ago, on May 12, 1994, to end the devastating war, but violence has flared up from time to time, most recently along the frontline of the troops. The OSCE Minsk Group and its co-chair countries have pushed for a resumption of the peace talks as a vehicle for dialogue.

Peace talks over the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that emerged over Armenia’s territorial claims against Azerbaijan are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin stated that Azerbaijan and Armenia themselves should resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that Russia can only be a mediator in this matter

“Anyone who says that Russia can solve the conflict in 15 minutes or 20 minutes is wrong,” he said while talking to students of Azerbaijan State Economic University on May 27.

“Neither pressure no crackdown on one side cannot bring the desired results. The basis must be laid on trust, and only your countries can create it. The April events showed once again how dangerous is the ongoing situation. So once again it became clear that there is only one reasonable solution – peace. Parties to the conflict and the international community need to make the right conclusions from this,” Dorokhin said, by further elaborating that Russia also will make conclusions, and increase the mediation efforts.

Russia, being one of the negotiators in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has always been considered a key party in brokering a lasting solution to the conflict, as it enjoys much influence on Armenia.