Armenian political analysts: Sargsyan and Aliev lay foundation for return to negotiations

The meeting of presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan has formed the basis for a return to the negotiating table; however, no radical improvement of the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone should be expected, said the Armenian political experts, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

On May 16, in Vienna, a meeting of Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev took place with participation of foreign ministers of the countries-co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The meeting made an attempt to revive the process of peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group; however, no new armistice was signed, as there is a perpetual agreement of 1994. This was stated by Alexander Iskandaryan, a political analyst and the Director of the Caucasus Institute.

He believes that the presidents' meeting will not necessarily result in reduction of violence in the conflict zone, because "the Minsk Group has no instruments for putting pressure."

The Vienna meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place through the efforts of all the parties – Russia, USA and France, Mr Iskandaryan is sure. He believes that it is not possible to settle the Karabakh conflict in the foreseeable future; however, he excludes any chances for a large-scale war.

The meeting in Vienna has laid a good basis for continuing the negotiations, said Ruben Megrabyan, an expert of the Armenian Centre for Political and International Studies.

The success of further ceasefire phases depends on the extent Azerbaijan is ready to follow the agreements and not to succumb to the temptation to escalate the situation, said the expert.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.