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Russian political analyst: Armenia will withdraw its forces from the seven occupied regions â€“ INTERVIEW

Russian political analyst: Armenia will withdraw its forces from the seven occupied regions â€“ <font color=red>INTERVIEW</font>

16 November 2011 10:33 (UTC +04:00)

Moscow. Farid Akbarov â€“ APA. APA Moscow correspondentâ€™s interview with Professor Alexey Malashenko, member of the Scientific Council of Carnegie Moscow Center, famous political analyst

-What advantages will the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council bring to Azerbaijan and how will it impact on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh problem?

-Azerbaijanâ€™s election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council will be a factor differentiating it from the other countries of the region.

The resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be inside the polygon that includes US, Russia, Turkey and the conflicting parties Azerbaijan and Armenia. Therefore, I think this process requires time. For the time being, the problem related purely to Nagorno Karabakh will not be solved. But I can say that sooner or later the problem of the seven regions adjacent to Nagorno Karabakh will be solved. Armenia will withdraw its forces from the occupied territories. This is the real theme for discussion. Yerevan also understands it well. But they have got their own games concerning the seven regions adjacent to Nagorno Karabakh. I reiterate that despite all this, the problem of seven regions will be solved.

As regards the Nagorno Karabakh problem, for the moment, I do not see the ways of its solution, because there is a question of recognition of the status of Nagorno Karabakh. The only way out is the proposal of a third formula besides the proposals of the conflicting parties. No genius has found this formula yet. In general, the world is full of unresolved conflicts, such as Middle East â€“ Israel and Palestine, Abkhazia, Nagorno Karabakh. Some consider that the most important thing is the resolution of the conflicts. But the resolution of the conflict does not mean everything, the main thing is to control the situation and the sides. There is no war in Nagorno Karabakh now. I think, there will be no war, otherwise, it will be tragic for both sides. Therefore, work should be continued to prevent war and maintain control on the sides. Otherwise, the process of resolution will return to the beginning and it will be a precedent in the history.

- During their last visit to the region, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs spoke in Baku and Yerevan about the new approaches to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. They made some proposals for strengthening confidence atmosphere. What can these proposals consist?

- According to its mandate, the OSCE Minsk Group must continue its efforts for the settlement of the conflict. They hold regular meetings in the region. They must make real proposals and discuss the real issues.

- Is it possible to solve the conflict through the public diplomacy?

- I donâ€™t know what is the public diplomacy because the diplomacy can not be the peopleâ€™s or anti-people. Currently the negotiations replaced the war. Everyone knows that the conflict is outside the framework of the sides. For example, there is a reaction by Turkey. It is not clear what it will do. It can be seen in the developments in the Middle East. Besides Russia, West and US have their changing interests in Azerbaijan and Armenia. The best case is that there is no country, which supports the war between the sides from outside. For example, there are some forces desiring for war in the Palestinian conflict. But despite the military rhetoric and military parades on both sides, there are no forces desiring for war here. I donâ€™t know a president, who makes unilateral concessions or moves seen like unilateral concession.