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news.az, Azerbaijan
Nov 19 2011
'Azerbaijan needs to rely on its power only'
Sat 19 November 2011 08:27 GMT | 10:27 Local Time
News.Az interviews Farhad Mehdiyev, political scientist and chair of
international law at the Caucasus (Kavkaz) University.
Do you share the view that the elections to be held in Russia and
Armenia next year will freeze Karabakh talks for several months at
least?
I don't tend to link the situation with elections. Whether there will
be elections or not, I don't expect any progress in negotiating
process. This matter plays no role for voters in Russia. But I agree
that this has some importance for Armenia.
However, the Armenian public does not want the Karabakh conflict to be
solved, namely, they don't want to give the lands back.
So, I don't share the views of those who try to attribute lack of
progress in the negotiating process to the upcoming elections in
Russia and Armenia.
And is the outcome of presidential elections in Russia not so
important for the conflict resolution?
In principle, this is a policy of neither Putin nor Medvedev. This is
about a traditional policy supportive of Armenia which Russia has
pursued over the past 200 years. So, a factor of a person has no
significance in this respect.
Which of the latest events associated with the Karabakh conflict
resolution has attracted your attention most of all?
I would like to draw attention to address of Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan to the participants of the international conference on
dynamic development in the South Caucasus held in Yerevan recently.
The essence of his remarks were that regional energy projects that
bypass some countries (in this case, Armenia) strengthen other
countries (namely, Azerbaijan), and they could endanger the region and
therefore the first countries are forced to increase their defense
capability.
What does it mean? This means that Armenians themselves do not expect
the conflict to be solved soon and they do not tend to make any
compromise. So, I believe the current situation has reached a
deadlock. And either you have to wait for some event that would change
Russia's position on this matter or Azerbaijan needs to continue to
enhance its power to solve the problem itself. I am skeptic about
chances to resolve the conflict through talks.
To what degree is the European Union sincere when it says it is ready
to help Baku and Yerevan to reach an agreement?
The European Union may and wants to solve the problem. But we do not
see this in action. However, Europeans seem to be more decisive in
terms of resolution of Georgia's problems - Abkhazia and South
Ossetia.
In this case, they do not say that they simply want the conflicting
parties to reach an agreement soon, but openly voice their support for
Georgia in this matter thereby putting pressure on Russia. And only
statements about the desire to solve the Karabakh issue will not
change anything.
And what about American people? How sincere are they in their efforts
to dispel the belief that Washington is not so much concerned about
the conflicts in the South Caucasus?
This is true. In principle, they have not reduced their attention to
the region. American interests are present always and everywhere, but
they do not always appear so obvious.
With regard to the Karabakh issue, it should be noted that Armenia is
the second country in the world in terms of direct per capita U.S.
aid. It seems irrelevant to speak about progress in the Karabakh
conflict resolution in this situation.
F.H.
News.Az
Nov 19 2011
'Azerbaijan needs to rely on its power only'
Sat 19 November 2011 08:27 GMT | 10:27 Local Time
News.Az interviews Farhad Mehdiyev, political scientist and chair of
international law at the Caucasus (Kavkaz) University.
Do you share the view that the elections to be held in Russia and
Armenia next year will freeze Karabakh talks for several months at
least?
I don't tend to link the situation with elections. Whether there will
be elections or not, I don't expect any progress in negotiating
process. This matter plays no role for voters in Russia. But I agree
that this has some importance for Armenia.
However, the Armenian public does not want the Karabakh conflict to be
solved, namely, they don't want to give the lands back.
So, I don't share the views of those who try to attribute lack of
progress in the negotiating process to the upcoming elections in
Russia and Armenia.
And is the outcome of presidential elections in Russia not so
important for the conflict resolution?
In principle, this is a policy of neither Putin nor Medvedev. This is
about a traditional policy supportive of Armenia which Russia has
pursued over the past 200 years. So, a factor of a person has no
significance in this respect.
Which of the latest events associated with the Karabakh conflict
resolution has attracted your attention most of all?
I would like to draw attention to address of Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan to the participants of the international conference on
dynamic development in the South Caucasus held in Yerevan recently.
The essence of his remarks were that regional energy projects that
bypass some countries (in this case, Armenia) strengthen other
countries (namely, Azerbaijan), and they could endanger the region and
therefore the first countries are forced to increase their defense
capability.
What does it mean? This means that Armenians themselves do not expect
the conflict to be solved soon and they do not tend to make any
compromise. So, I believe the current situation has reached a
deadlock. And either you have to wait for some event that would change
Russia's position on this matter or Azerbaijan needs to continue to
enhance its power to solve the problem itself. I am skeptic about
chances to resolve the conflict through talks.
To what degree is the European Union sincere when it says it is ready
to help Baku and Yerevan to reach an agreement?
The European Union may and wants to solve the problem. But we do not
see this in action. However, Europeans seem to be more decisive in
terms of resolution of Georgia's problems - Abkhazia and South
Ossetia.
In this case, they do not say that they simply want the conflicting
parties to reach an agreement soon, but openly voice their support for
Georgia in this matter thereby putting pressure on Russia. And only
statements about the desire to solve the Karabakh issue will not
change anything.
And what about American people? How sincere are they in their efforts
to dispel the belief that Washington is not so much concerned about
the conflicts in the South Caucasus?
This is true. In principle, they have not reduced their attention to
the region. American interests are present always and everywhere, but
they do not always appear so obvious.
With regard to the Karabakh issue, it should be noted that Armenia is
the second country in the world in terms of direct per capita U.S.
aid. It seems irrelevant to speak about progress in the Karabakh
conflict resolution in this situation.
F.H.
News.Az