Tweet
KARABAKH: RUSSIA PARTICIPATES IN NEGOTIATIONS AS A NEUTRAL PARTY
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Aug 14 2014
14 August 2014 - 4:10pm
By "Vestnik Kavkaza"
Experts had hoped that against the background of violent clashes in
the conflict zone of Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia would take the lead in
finding a solution to the conflict at the Sochi meeting of Armenian
and Azerbaijani leaders Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev with Russian
President Vladimir Putin. As a result of the meeting, the parties
assured that they are willing to continue the negotiation process to
resolve the conflict. According to Vladimir Putin, both sides have
the goodwill for it.
The director of the SCO Business Club, Denis Tyurin, believes that
the main outcome of the Sochi summit is the fact that it prevented
an escalation of the conflict. "The outcome of the negotiations did
not become known to the public, nor the topics that were discussed,
neither questions nor conclusions have been published. Currently we
see some easing of the situation, the parties have calmed down, we
see a willingness to negotiate, a readiness to find common ground,
build bridges, possibly bypass walls and look for exits through
negotiations."
Tyurin believes that the efforts undertaken by Russia in this
regard are not associated with traditional partner-based relations
between Armenia and Russia: "Russia is acting as a neutral party,
as an objective, outside observer, ready to consider and accept the
logic of each of the parties in order to find the most suitable, the
most accommodating solution for each of the parties. The long-term
objective of all parties, of all governments, is to increase the
well-being of the population, to increase living standards, to make
the life of people better. It is in this framework that we need to talk
about the future ways of resolving the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh."
According to Tyurin, the fact that Azerbaijan is in a better economic
position and has larger financial resources has a positive effect on
its willingness to invest and stimulate economic activities in the
region. "I guess it makes sense to take the next step - to open up
opportunities for economic cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Certainly there are many possibilities for that in the framework of
the single Eurasian economic space and it would be very impractical
not to use them."
The director of the Institute of EurAsEC, Vladimir Lepekhin, is
convinced that "the main players behind the scenes who are trying to
fan the flames in the Caucasus and throughout the region have been
trying to "pump" Armenia, sponsored the opposition, raised the issue
of Nagorno-Karabakh in a way which contradicted the authorities' line."
According to Lepekhin, the Western countries have long been playing
against Azerbaijan: "We know that, until 2011, Azerbaijan had
the highest rates of economic growth associated with the export of
hydrocarbons. This was due to the fact that mainly foreign companies
worked in all the fields. Then, suddenly, operators of these companies
have started to reduce the production of hydrocarbons. They avoided
saying why, even though [President Ilham] Aliyev has repeatedly asked
them why it was reducing. Then the leadership of Azerbaijan started to
implement the policy of industrialization. Foreign companies came at
that time as well, invested money. Now comes a moment when Azerbaijan
is pressured."
According to the expert, on this basis, the solution of the Karabakh
problem remains not "in the hands of some international organizations,
let alone the United States, but only in the hands of the presidents of
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia." Lepekhin also emphasized the possible
role of the President of Kazakhstan in the conflict: "We have long
been suggesting the 2+2 format in addressing not only the Karabakh
problem, but relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in general and
the stabilization of the region as a whole. According to this format,
Kazakhstan will be the guarantor of Azerbaijan's participation in the
negotiations and Russia will be the guarantor of the participation of
Armenia. Four countries within the 2+2 format will be able to finally
solve this problem."
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/58861.html
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Aug 14 2014
14 August 2014 - 4:10pm
By "Vestnik Kavkaza"
Experts had hoped that against the background of violent clashes in
the conflict zone of Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia would take the lead in
finding a solution to the conflict at the Sochi meeting of Armenian
and Azerbaijani leaders Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev with Russian
President Vladimir Putin. As a result of the meeting, the parties
assured that they are willing to continue the negotiation process to
resolve the conflict. According to Vladimir Putin, both sides have
the goodwill for it.
The director of the SCO Business Club, Denis Tyurin, believes that
the main outcome of the Sochi summit is the fact that it prevented
an escalation of the conflict. "The outcome of the negotiations did
not become known to the public, nor the topics that were discussed,
neither questions nor conclusions have been published. Currently we
see some easing of the situation, the parties have calmed down, we
see a willingness to negotiate, a readiness to find common ground,
build bridges, possibly bypass walls and look for exits through
negotiations."
Tyurin believes that the efforts undertaken by Russia in this
regard are not associated with traditional partner-based relations
between Armenia and Russia: "Russia is acting as a neutral party,
as an objective, outside observer, ready to consider and accept the
logic of each of the parties in order to find the most suitable, the
most accommodating solution for each of the parties. The long-term
objective of all parties, of all governments, is to increase the
well-being of the population, to increase living standards, to make
the life of people better. It is in this framework that we need to talk
about the future ways of resolving the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh."
According to Tyurin, the fact that Azerbaijan is in a better economic
position and has larger financial resources has a positive effect on
its willingness to invest and stimulate economic activities in the
region. "I guess it makes sense to take the next step - to open up
opportunities for economic cooperation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Certainly there are many possibilities for that in the framework of
the single Eurasian economic space and it would be very impractical
not to use them."
The director of the Institute of EurAsEC, Vladimir Lepekhin, is
convinced that "the main players behind the scenes who are trying to
fan the flames in the Caucasus and throughout the region have been
trying to "pump" Armenia, sponsored the opposition, raised the issue
of Nagorno-Karabakh in a way which contradicted the authorities' line."
According to Lepekhin, the Western countries have long been playing
against Azerbaijan: "We know that, until 2011, Azerbaijan had
the highest rates of economic growth associated with the export of
hydrocarbons. This was due to the fact that mainly foreign companies
worked in all the fields. Then, suddenly, operators of these companies
have started to reduce the production of hydrocarbons. They avoided
saying why, even though [President Ilham] Aliyev has repeatedly asked
them why it was reducing. Then the leadership of Azerbaijan started to
implement the policy of industrialization. Foreign companies came at
that time as well, invested money. Now comes a moment when Azerbaijan
is pressured."
According to the expert, on this basis, the solution of the Karabakh
problem remains not "in the hands of some international organizations,
let alone the United States, but only in the hands of the presidents of
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia." Lepekhin also emphasized the possible
role of the President of Kazakhstan in the conflict: "We have long
been suggesting the 2+2 format in addressing not only the Karabakh
problem, but relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in general and
the stabilization of the region as a whole. According to this format,
Kazakhstan will be the guarantor of Azerbaijan's participation in the
negotiations and Russia will be the guarantor of the participation of
Armenia. Four countries within the 2+2 format will be able to finally
solve this problem."
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/58861.html