Political analysts doubt prospects for resumption of negotiations on Karabakh

With the support of Russia, Azerbaijan hampers the negotiation process. This opinion was voiced by political analyst Ruben Megrabyan, an expert of the Centre for Political and International Studies, in his interview to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the escalation in the conflict zone took place at night on February 25. According to the Azerbaijani party, Armenian soldiers attacked its territory; the attack was repulsed resulting in five killed Azerbaijani soldiers. In their turn, the spokesmen of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh assert that Azerbaijan tried to make a diversion. According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the bodies were found in the neutral territory, not in the area controlled by Azerbaijan.

Ruben Megrabyan believes that the Azerbaijani authorities take benefit from the current situation. According to the political analyst, while heating up tensions in the Karabakh conflict zone, the Azerbaijani authorities "divert the public attention from economic, social, and political problems."

Political analyst Sergey Minasyan, Deputy Director of the Caucasus Institute, believes that "even in case if mediators succeed in bringing the parties to the negotiating table, the meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will be formal in its nature and the likelihood of renewed hostilities will still remain high." According to Sergey Minasyan, the Azerbaijani authorities will agree to resume the negotiations if they "lose all hope to change the situation by military means."

Political analyst Stepan Grigoryan, Director of the Armenian Centre for Globalization and Regional Cooperation, also sees no prospects for the resumption of the negotiations on the Karabakh conflict settlement. According to Stepan Grigoryan, Azerbaijan has "changed its policy on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and is doing everything possible to change the status quo."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.