Armenian analysts argue about consequences of Putin-Aliev-Pashinyan summit

Moscow will not be able to support Nagorno-Karabakh's independence and its belonging to Azerbaijan for a long time. Although the parties have signed a ceasefire agreement, the conflict has not been settled; and the OSCE Minsk Group may soon start discussing the status of the unrecognized republic, political analysts have suggested.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 11, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliev and Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, held talks on the situation in Karabakh.

Russia has not limited the settlement in Karabakh by the return of seven districts to Azerbaijan, forgetting about the issue of its status, Igor Popov, a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, has stated.

In the opinion of Naira Airumyan, a political observer, the tone of the Russian diplomat may indicate that something went wrong at the meeting in Moscow. "The Armenian party may have reproached Russia for levelling the essence of the conflict and refusing to encourage Azerbaijan to discuss the Karabakh's status," she has explained.

Ms Airumyan has recalled that earlier Mr Putin had stated that "from the viewpoint of international law, Karabakh is the territory of Azerbaijan," and this caused bewilderment in Yerevan.

The Karabakh problem has remained; only the format of the conflict has changed, said Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the Caucasus Institute. The presence of peacemakers in Karabakh means that the conflict has not been resolved, he has noted.

A very important problem is also related to refugees and prisoners of war (POWs), Mr Iskandaryan added.

In the opinion of Andrias Gukasyan, a political analyst, the trilateral format of negotiations (Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan) is protracting the settlement of the situation. "The idea that by postponing the status it is possible to establish peaceful relations of Armenians with Azerbaijanis is false and will not lead to sustainable peace in the region," Mr Gukasyan has concluded.'