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Nagorno Garabagh

US Congressâ€™ Helsinki Commission policy adviser: â€œThe Nagorno-Karabakh conflict looks little different than 15 years agoâ€

05 January 2012 08:10 (UTC +04:00)

â€œDespite the efforts of the Minsk Group and the occasional exuberant claims of imminent success, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict looks little different than 15 years agoâ€, he says.

Mr. Och, who last month organized a hearing on the Caucasus conflict at the Helsinki Commission, also points out that things are different in Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well, where matters languished unchanged for many years until the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.

The analyst mentions contradictions between two Helsinki principles: territorial integrity and self-determination.

To this day, he says, after two decades of mediation, the parties refer to these two principles as their guiding lights and justification.

â€Neither the negotiators nor the international community have been able to bridge the gapâ€, he says.