Trend News Interview with a senior member of the correspondent in the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), CSIS Project Director for Turkey Bulent Aliriza.
– Recently, representatives of Azerbaijani and Armenian intellectuals have visited Nagorno-Karabakh, and then met with the presidents of each of the two countries. How do you evaluate such visits, and whether diplomacy is a tool for civil society to resolve conflict?
– This is not the first visit of its kind. Of course, it is good that there are contacts. The question is whether the help of such visits and meetings, when there is no political solution to the issue. Presidents and Foreign Ministers have meet, but the conflict remains unresolved. The risk is how long will continue meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh, where the issue would be resolved and that prevents the resolution of the conflict.
– Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was one of the issues on the agenda of the meeting Obama and Medvedev. What do you think this meeting could have an impact on the negotiation process? Have you created any new opportunities? How do you generally evaluate the meeting?
– It is clear that the United States and Russia want to improve relations. They agreed on several issues in order to reduce their nuclear arsenals. Obama and Medvedev signed a «common understanding on further reductions and limitations of SNV».
They discussed other issues, equally important – the situation in Afghanistan. And, of course, referred not resolve conflicts: Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The question on which the two sides have not yet agreed – this is Georgia. Russia still opposed to the integration of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO.
We are still very far from the claim that the United States and Russia have agreed on all issues, and they have no dispute that it would be ideal, but so far it is not. Returning to the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh. Yes, this problem is also discussed. Of course, it is good that it is being discussed at that level. But I think that Russia should demonstrate the sincerity of the desire to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. You know, every year they say they want to resolve the conflict, but it has not yet been settled.
– Presidents of the USA, Russia and France took on the G8 summit in Italy, a joint statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. How does it affect the future of the negotiating process?
– Well, actually, this issue was not on the agenda of the summit. The heads of G8 countries more say on climate change, the situation in Africa, the financial crisis and ways to overcome them, etc. It was a statement on the situation in Iran and also the statement of the Heads of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh.
I think that the institution of the Minsk Group has so far been very active and did a lot. That is good that there is optimism, and it must eventually to bring to something. But while I would not overestimate the importance of the statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the G8 summit for the negotiation process.
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