Andreas Gross: Armenia is aware that it is too weak to achieve victory by military means

"Of course, normalization of relations would help resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem through peaceful means,” Andreas Gross, former PACE reporter on Azerbaijan, said in response to a question on the impact of the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations on settlement of the Karabakh conflict and whether Armenia will stop making claims of "genocide" after the normalization of relations between the two states.

"Currently, Turkey has been involved in the process of normalization of relations in a positive and constructive manner. After lengthy discussions, Armenia agreed to set up a commission of historians on the question of "genocide". I think that this will lead to real results. Consent of Armenia to the establishment of the commission after two years of negotiations is a significant and positive development. Currently, a similar shift is observed in the Turkish-Kurdish relations,” Gross said.

“I am extremely optimistic that the Turkish government is on the right track. The commission to be set up will consider the issue of "genocide" only with the historical aspect, based on historical facts. This will help Armenians and Turks to find peace and again look at its history,” he said.

Gross also answered the question about the presence of a shift in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"Of course, I see  a shift,” said former PACE rapporteur. “However, the main shift is that the parties after the war in  Georgia was convinced that a war is not a way to resolve the conflict. Perhaps, in Armenia there are different views and interests. However, Armenia knows that it is too weak to achieve victory in the conflict by military means.”
 
/ANS TV/