“It is impossible to happen a solution to one detail of the conflict by leaving the other one uncertain. It is no secret that Russia has repeatedly mentioned in various ways that the parties do not agree to the referendum, for which the discussion on the status should be postponed but some territories shall be returned to Azerbaijan. James Warlick is speaking against it, making it clear that if the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is not recognized by Azerbaijan, no solution can take place,” – this is how political analyst Styopa Safaryan interprets OSCE Minsk Group US Co-Chair James Warlick’s statement.
Recall that Mr. Warlick was saying that there will be no agreement without the return of occupied territories to Azerbaijan, or without talks on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. “This is a dispute with the Russian co-chair and the Russian authorities. Warlick’s words, first of all, are addressed to Moscow, and second, to Azerbaijan that has agreed with them. As long as Azerbaijan will not agree to a comprehensive and package settlement, so much there will be no solution to the problem. I do not want to say that there are no complexes in terms of diplomacy and negotiation, there are but in this sense, the main recipient of Warlick’s message is Moscow,” – said Styopa Safaryan.
Addressing the US co-chair’s statement that the issue of determining the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh was suggested by President Ilham Aliyev, Mr. Safaryan continued, “The status should be decided by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, no matter what Azerbaijan says. Last week, President of Azerbaijan announced that he was ready to give the status of an autonomous republic, but let us understand that Aliyev is not the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, nor the expresser of the will of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. NK has repeatedly stated that it will not return to Azerbaijan. Warlick was speaking about the general rules of the game, which implies the expression of the will of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Warlick reminds Aliyev that the settlement of the conflict assumes also a determination of the status, and Azerbaijan has agreed to the rules of this game. Now, no one speaks openly that a deviation in the rules of the game has happened but it really happened.”
Talking about the attempts of sabotage reported in the line of contact, Mr. Safaryan said that according to his forecast, in the end of the year, we will have a tense situation on the contact line, with more frequent violations, “I do not think it will be like the war in April but the dynamic is growing, so as the tension, the irreconcilability of the parties and co-chairs during the negotiations push the process of negotiations to an impasse.”
Read also
Arpine SIMONYAN
