SERGEY MARKEDONOV: THE MEETING OF PRESIDENTS REGISTERED NO SERIOUS PROGRESS
armradio.am
11.06.2008 16:07
The meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Saint
Petersburg on June 6 did not register any break or serious progress in
the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue, Head of the Interethnic
Relations Department at the Institute of Political and Military
Analysis, political scientist Sergey Markedonov said during the
Moscow-Yerevan-Baku space bridge.
According to him, there were two approaches on the issue. One of
them he called journalistic from the perspective of an informational
opportunity.
"The Presidents met, which means that the conflict will be solved
tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," Markedonov noted. The second
approach is that of the political scientists and experts, according
to whom the meeting registered no breakthrough, he said. According
to him, RA President Serzh Sargsyan cannot be considered a "novice"
is the Karabakh issue or in politics. "He is brilliantly familiar
with the situation," Sergey Markedonov mentioned.
According to the political scientist, a great regress has been
registered on the way of settlement during the past 1.5 years. "In
2007 there were more cases of exchange of fire and clashes at the
cease-fire zone, the number of victims was greater than in 2006. The
most serious military clash during the 14 years of armistice was
registered on March 4-5, 2008," said the political scientist, adding
that most of the bellicose rhetoric comes from Azerbaijan, which
views itself as the defeated party. "The main result is that the
meeting took place. It’s better to meet and speak, that is the most
positive result, but speaking about any progress is out of question,
since the parties derive from different assessments of the situation
and philosophy of the conflict," Markedonov noted.
"I do not see 2-3 points, where the parties will be ready for
concessions. Simply, the philosophy and view of the conflict is
different," the political scientist said.