Political scientist Beniamin Poghosyan thinks that the 3 + 3 or 3 + 2 format is definitely against the interests of Armenia because the creation of another platform in parallel with the Minsk Group will create serious danger where Armenia’s interests will not be protected. According to the political scientist, everything should be done to prevent the creation of that format. Benjamin Poghosyan said this during a discussion organized by the Media Center. According to him, there are several legal formats in the region, one of which is the Minsk Group, which continues its activities and has a mandate to deal with the settlement of the Artsakh conflict.
“The other is the trilateral format – Russia, Armenia-Azerbaijan. On the other hand, there is an intensive process to form the third platform, 3 + 3. Georgia strongly resists this format and it is obvious that Georgia is resisting here at the urging of the United States. This format further formalizes the expulsion of the West from these processes because there is no Western state in it.” According to the political scientist, there is a danger for Armenia that a platform may be created in parallel with the Minsk Group, which may be a platform for much more practical solutions.
“There are many similarities here with the situation in Syria, when there was an international platform in Geneva where discussions took place, but specific issues were not resolved, and the situation did not change. Then in 2017, the Astana platform was created with Turkey-Iran-Russia, but the decisions were made because those three countries were key players in influencing the situation on the ground. If this platform is formed, whether it is 3 + 3 or 3 + 2, one of the main dangers for us is that an alternative platform will be created for the Minsk Group, the decisions of which, by the way, can be implemented.”
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Political scientist Edgar Vardanyan, participating in the discussion, reminded that the Minsk Group is a concrete format aimed at the settlement of the Karabakh issue. “And today a situation has been created when certain processes are taking place that may not be directly related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict; that is, they may go in parallel with the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. For example, the clarification of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border or the unblocking of transport infrastructure. These were in fact taken out of the Minsk Group format, taken out of the negotiations over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. But they are interconnected. It is not in Armenia’s interests to oust any geopolitical center from the region. I am mostly referring to the West.”
Lusine BUDAGHYAN
