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Political expert: Safarov case radically changed situation around Karabakh
ARMINFO
Friday, June 7, 15:43
Safarov case has radically changed the situation around the Karabakh
peace process provoking a huge international scandal and throwing back
the protracted negotiations, Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the
Caucasus Institute, said at the Caucasus- 2012 international
conference in Yerevan, Friday.
"Afterwards, Baku's all talks and promises 'to provide Karabakh with
the highest level of autonomy' remain beyond the logic of the
negotiation process. Glorification of a man for murder on ethnic
motives made the relations of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan
impossible.
Iskandaryan believes that Safarov case has become a stalemate in the
stalemate for the Karabakh peace process, as there were no
opportunities to resolve the conflict even before that. So, it was
hard for the mediators even to imitate the negotiation process, he
said.
To recall, on August 31 the Armenian authorities adopted a decision to
suspend diplomatic relations and official contacts with Hungary.
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan made public the decision at a
special meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions on Friday after
the Hungarian authorities extradited Azeri officer Ramil Safarov, who
was sentenced by a Hungarian court to life in jail for killing
sleeping Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe in Budapest in
2004. Both the officers were undergoing an English language course
under the NATO PfP program. The same day after Safarov's extradition,
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev decreed to pardon the criminal.
Safarov case seriously damaged the international image of Azerbaijan
and allowed Yerevan to demand sooner return of Nagorno Karabakh to the
negotiating table. President Serzh Sargsyan called Karabakh's return
to the negotiations 'natural and logical.' It was thanks to the
efforts of the Minsk Group that the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers met in Paris on October 27 and agreed on further meetings.
ARMINFO
Friday, June 7, 15:43
Safarov case has radically changed the situation around the Karabakh
peace process provoking a huge international scandal and throwing back
the protracted negotiations, Alexander Iskandaryan, Director of the
Caucasus Institute, said at the Caucasus- 2012 international
conference in Yerevan, Friday.
"Afterwards, Baku's all talks and promises 'to provide Karabakh with
the highest level of autonomy' remain beyond the logic of the
negotiation process. Glorification of a man for murder on ethnic
motives made the relations of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan
impossible.
Iskandaryan believes that Safarov case has become a stalemate in the
stalemate for the Karabakh peace process, as there were no
opportunities to resolve the conflict even before that. So, it was
hard for the mediators even to imitate the negotiation process, he
said.
To recall, on August 31 the Armenian authorities adopted a decision to
suspend diplomatic relations and official contacts with Hungary.
President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan made public the decision at a
special meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions on Friday after
the Hungarian authorities extradited Azeri officer Ramil Safarov, who
was sentenced by a Hungarian court to life in jail for killing
sleeping Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan with an axe in Budapest in
2004. Both the officers were undergoing an English language course
under the NATO PfP program. The same day after Safarov's extradition,
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev decreed to pardon the criminal.
Safarov case seriously damaged the international image of Azerbaijan
and allowed Yerevan to demand sooner return of Nagorno Karabakh to the
negotiating table. President Serzh Sargsyan called Karabakh's return
to the negotiations 'natural and logical.' It was thanks to the
efforts of the Minsk Group that the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign
ministers met in Paris on October 27 and agreed on further meetings.