Today.Az » Politics » Russian expert: It will be difficult for Armenia to object to liberation of Azerbaijan's occupied lands
12 July 2010 [16:18] - Today.Az
Day.Az interview with Head of Centre for Mediterranean and Black Sea Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Europe, political expert Alla Yazikova.
In your opinion, can U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to Baku and Yerevan impact the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?
This visit summed up everything that we witnessed around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement lately. I think it was very important. It is worth noting the statement by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries’ leaders which can be deemed basic in terms of further settlement process.
So, during his visit Hillary Clinton was to reinforce this statement because it was not clear how Azerbaijan and Armenia will respond to it. Moreover, before that, Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents held a trilateral meeting in St. Petersburg on June 18 which brought no results.
In their statement, presidents of France, Russia and the U.S. called on the conflicting parties to take the last step as part of renewed Madrid principles, which Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, has already accepted. Can we assume that this statement was addressed to Yerevan in the first place?
The main point here is the principles shaped by the OSCE and confirmed by Russian, U.S. and French leaders based on which the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved. For example, talks as to how many regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh will be liberated at the first stage have been put an end.
The statement also deals with future status of Nagorno-Karabakh and a corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. So, this statement put an end to any kind of misinterpretation. Again, I think the statement by the three presidents is a base document for resolution of the conflict.
Returning to the visit of Hillary Clinton, she came to learn opinion of the parties regarding the statement of the three presidents in a relaxed atmosphere.
Media outlets, especially those in America noted Baku’s positive stance and its readiness to work based on the updated Madrid principles.
With regard to Yerevan, as far as I understand, Clinton faced a bit tougher task there.
Now it will be difficult for Armenia to object to liberation of the occupied regions around Nagorno-Karabakh, return of refugees and deployment of peacekeepers. But when the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is raised, heated discussions will follow.
In your opinion, will it be possible to move the Karabakh conflict from the deadlock this year?
In this regard, I want to return to the statement by the three presidents once again. No country in the world can ignore the statement by the leaders of the world's major powers. This statement calls for liberation of regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh as at the initial stage. It does not specify number of region. So, it refers to all regions. Of course, this will not happen in just one day.
/Day.Az/
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