Expert: Washington not interested in resolving Karabakh conflict at the moment

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

Today, Washington is not interested in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in any of its variants, said Mikhail Chernov, an expert at Russia’s Center of Strategic Conjuncture.

Chernov, made the remark as he commented on the recent remarks by U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Richard Hoagland, who said that the U.S. and Russia, despite the existing differences between them, closely work on resolving the Karabakh conflict.

Hoagland, talking to Voice of America also noted that all three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have closely cooperated to achieve a peaceful resolution to the Karabakh conflict and they try to resume full-fledged negotiations between the parties to the conflict.

Mikhail Chernov told Day.Az that there's nothing new or revolutionary in the statement of the American diplomat.

“Azerbaijan and Armenia mean diametrically opposite things by the resolution of the conflict. As for the U.S., at the moment I do not see that Washington is interested in resolving the conflict in any of its variants,” the expert said.

He further noted that with rising tensions in the Middle East, the U.S. is interested in Azerbaijan as a possible instrument of pressure on Iran. “From this point of view, Americans do not need the calm Azerbaijan,” Chernov said.

The expert reminded that there is the Russian military base in Armenia, and Armenia is the link to the Middle East for Russia and the transport corridor to Iran. “It is unlikely that Americans need peace and absence of conflict along the road through Zangezur to Iran,” he assumed.

Chernov added that the possible international intensification around the conflict does not always mean that it will soon be resolved.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.