KARABAKH ISSUE HAS STOPPED BEING A TOOL IN STRUGGLE FOR POWER

Lragir.am
31-05-2007 15:58:35

There is no essential link between the Armenian election and the
settlement of the Karabakh issue, thinks Manvel Sargsyan, expert of the
Caucasus Analytical Center, who was hosted by the Radio Remix program
of the Center for Political and International Studies on the Ruskoye
Radio. In answer to the question of the host Aghasi Yenokyan, head of
the CPIS, if the Armenian parliamentary election brought us closer to
the settlement of the Karabakh conflict or not, Manvel Sargsyan said:
"The problem is if the proposals on the settlement that are on the
ground are acceptable for Armenia or not. I do not think there is full
agreement, people are following the society, the political forces,
and doubt what situation will occur if suddenly they sign. I think
no agreement is outlining."

The expert says Azerbaijan is trying to retrieve its losses, not partly
but fully. And Armenia wants to persuade Azerbaijan to return only
part. "You know if there is agreement on proposals that are on the
ground, you have to admit this, you can speak about it. But there
is no such thing. Even if there is no agreement on one issue, we
may say there is no agreement at all but all is a diplomatic game. I
do not think Azerbaijan is ready for it. The Armenian side believes
it is possible to meet and agree on one project or another. But it
is only the opinion of the Armenian side. There may be confidence,
but Azerbaijan does not appear to agree," the expert thinks.

He says the Azerbaijani side thinks if it does not retrieve all, it
will do it tomorrow. Does it mean that Azerbaijan is temporizing? In
answer to this question Manvel Sargsyan says they temporize since
they use the time effectively. In this connection, he thinks
Armenia and Azerbaijan are not using all the opportunities. "We
reached the independence of Karabakh, in fact, and our problem is to
persuade Azerbaijan and the international community to take it into
consideration. Of course, being ready to maintain our stance. This
is our problem, Azerbaijan has another problem, and how do we seek
for a solution here? Time works for those who use time effectively,"
Manvel Sargsyan says.

He thinks the political developments in the world may have an essential
influence on the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, which Armenia
and Azerbaijan do not perceive adequately, however. "They hope for a
moment when their stance will be maintained. Azerbaijan now spells
it out more often to make the situation favor them. Armenia speaks
less but also mentions it from time to time. In reality, there is no
clear-cut policy. This is the problem," Manvel Sargsyan says.

He says Azerbaijan works better in the international sphere, and is
especially successful in its efforts to have Armenia isolated.

As to the opinion that the Armenian government does not solve the
Karabakh issue to hold on to power, Manvel Sargsyan says it is not
absolutely true. It is possible to hold on to power through solving
the Karabakh issue, because the problem is the approach. "The new
government is said to include persons who went through the war,
contributed to the creation of the army. Look, the government which
came to power in this way will want more conflicts, wars. If they
come to power upholding the rule of law, legality, the rule of the
Constitution, this government does not need conflicts and wars,"
Manvel Sargsyan says.

In some sense, he thinks it is positive that the Karabakh issue did
not become a topic for discussion in the pre-election period. The
expert says the problem is not that there is a social consensus and,
therefore, no public debates are needed. Manvel Sargsyan says simply
the Karabakh issue has stopped being a means of holding on to power,
therefore the political forces did not resort to it and did not
manipulate it. Manvel Sargsyan thinks it is good because if they
remember Karabakh during the election to come to power or to hold
on to power, they had better not remember at all. According to him,
the Karabakh issue should be considered in the context of state and
public interests, not before the elections.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress