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ARMENIAN DENIAL OF KARABAKH PROGRESS 'SLAP IN THE FACE' FOR MEDVEDEV
Akper Hasanov News.Az
news.az
Feb 28 2011
Azerbaijan
News.Az interviews Asim Mollazade, chairman of the Party for Democratic
Reforms and a Milli Majlis deputy.
Can we expect a breakthrough in resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh at the meeting of the presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia in Sochi on 5 March?
We want to believe that Yerevan will take definite steps to resolve
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh at the Sochi
meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Unfortunately,
all talks between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the
resolution of this conflict conducted by the OSCE Minsk Group, as
well as at the initiative of Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev,
have not led to movement towards peace, towards a resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Karabakh. It was clearly seen at
the OSCE summit in Astana, where Armenia cynically and impudently
denied all agreements reached earlier on resolution of the conflict.
This was a slap in the face for Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev,
who hoped that definite agreements on resolution of the conflict
would be reached in Astana.
Does Russia not have any mechanisms to put pressure on Armenia?
Of course Russia has mechanisms to influence Armenia. As we are aware
of this, we hope that Russia, which has seized the initiative as a
mediator on the Karabakh conflict, will use all its levers to influence
Armenia to achieve a result. Otherwise, serious damage will be done to
the influence of Russia and to that of its president, Dmitriy Medvedev.
Does the United States, as the only country to allocate annual
financial assistance to the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic,
put any pressure on Yerevan to solve the conflict?
I think the Minsk Group co-chairing states, including the US and
Russia, have no principal differences on resolution of the Karabakh
conflict. As for the US allocation of financial assistance to
separatists from the unrecognized "NKR", it is mostly the result
of the work of the Armenian lobby in the United States. But here
it should be mentioned that interesting news has come out of the
United States recently. For example, an influential and well known
gang, Armenian Power, was smashed in California on 16 February and
its members charged with blackmail, kidnapping, money laundering
and drug trafficking. A little earlier, the head of the Armenian
mafia in the United States, kingpin Armen Kazaryan, known as Pzo,
was arrested for numerous crimes. Both these cases prove that the
money, which the Armenian lobby uses to seek financial aid from
the United States for the so-called "NKR", is of obviously criminal
origin. This allows us to think that the US leadership will start to
realize the criminal activity of the Armenian diaspora in the United
States, the threat of the actions of the US Armenian lobby to this
superpower's national interests. Indirect proof could be the fact
that US President Barack Obama confirmed Matthew Bryza in the post
of US ambassador to Azerbaijan, though the Armenian lobby in the
States was doing its best to stop this. We hope the United States
will continue its policy of responding to its national interests,
rather than the interests of the Armenian diaspora, which is closely
linked with the world of crime and terrorism.
How will the deepening socioeconomic crisis in Armenia influence
Yerevan's position on a resolution?
I don't think the deepening domestic political and socioeconomic
problems in Armenia will be able to influence Yerevan's position
on resolution of the Karabakh conflict. On the contrary, unable to
tackle the socioeconomic problems of their citizens, the Armenian
authorities may show greater obstinacy in the negotiating process,
in this way trying to "respond" to criticism from the opposition.
From: A. Papazian
Akper Hasanov News.Az
news.az
Feb 28 2011
Azerbaijan
News.Az interviews Asim Mollazade, chairman of the Party for Democratic
Reforms and a Milli Majlis deputy.
Can we expect a breakthrough in resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh at the meeting of the presidents of
Azerbaijan and Armenia in Sochi on 5 March?
We want to believe that Yerevan will take definite steps to resolve
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh at the Sochi
meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Unfortunately,
all talks between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia on the
resolution of this conflict conducted by the OSCE Minsk Group, as
well as at the initiative of Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev,
have not led to movement towards peace, towards a resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Karabakh. It was clearly seen at
the OSCE summit in Astana, where Armenia cynically and impudently
denied all agreements reached earlier on resolution of the conflict.
This was a slap in the face for Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev,
who hoped that definite agreements on resolution of the conflict
would be reached in Astana.
Does Russia not have any mechanisms to put pressure on Armenia?
Of course Russia has mechanisms to influence Armenia. As we are aware
of this, we hope that Russia, which has seized the initiative as a
mediator on the Karabakh conflict, will use all its levers to influence
Armenia to achieve a result. Otherwise, serious damage will be done to
the influence of Russia and to that of its president, Dmitriy Medvedev.
Does the United States, as the only country to allocate annual
financial assistance to the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic,
put any pressure on Yerevan to solve the conflict?
I think the Minsk Group co-chairing states, including the US and
Russia, have no principal differences on resolution of the Karabakh
conflict. As for the US allocation of financial assistance to
separatists from the unrecognized "NKR", it is mostly the result
of the work of the Armenian lobby in the United States. But here
it should be mentioned that interesting news has come out of the
United States recently. For example, an influential and well known
gang, Armenian Power, was smashed in California on 16 February and
its members charged with blackmail, kidnapping, money laundering
and drug trafficking. A little earlier, the head of the Armenian
mafia in the United States, kingpin Armen Kazaryan, known as Pzo,
was arrested for numerous crimes. Both these cases prove that the
money, which the Armenian lobby uses to seek financial aid from
the United States for the so-called "NKR", is of obviously criminal
origin. This allows us to think that the US leadership will start to
realize the criminal activity of the Armenian diaspora in the United
States, the threat of the actions of the US Armenian lobby to this
superpower's national interests. Indirect proof could be the fact
that US President Barack Obama confirmed Matthew Bryza in the post
of US ambassador to Azerbaijan, though the Armenian lobby in the
States was doing its best to stop this. We hope the United States
will continue its policy of responding to its national interests,
rather than the interests of the Armenian diaspora, which is closely
linked with the world of crime and terrorism.
How will the deepening socioeconomic crisis in Armenia influence
Yerevan's position on a resolution?
I don't think the deepening domestic political and socioeconomic
problems in Armenia will be able to influence Yerevan's position
on resolution of the Karabakh conflict. On the contrary, unable to
tackle the socioeconomic problems of their citizens, the Armenian
authorities may show greater obstinacy in the negotiating process,
in this way trying to "respond" to criticism from the opposition.
From: A. Papazian