OFFICIAL BAKU AND LOCAL POLITICAL EXPERTS DIFFERENTLY APPROACH MOSCOW TALKS ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT
Trend News Agency
Aug 1 2008
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, Baku, 1 August / Trend News / I.Alizade / Although official
Baku expects Armenia’s constructive position at the meeting to be
held between Elmar Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
and his counterpart Edvard Nalbandyan in Moscow on 1 August on
the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, independent political
scientists consider this meeting to be fruitless. "The resolution of
the conflict depends on whether Armenia will take the constructive
position and observes international principles and standards," Khazar
Ibrahim, press secretary of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said to
Trend News on 1 August.
Elmar Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, and Edvard
Nalbandyan, his counterpart will meet in Moscow on 1 August to discuss
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,
including Mathew Bryza (the United States), Yuri Merzlyakov ( Russia)
and Bernard Fasier ( France) will participate in this meeting as well.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost the Nagorno-Karabakh, except of Shusha and Khojali, in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian Armed Forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and
Nagorno-Karabakh’s seven surrounding regions. In 1994, Azerbaijan
and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active
hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia,
France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful, but fruitless
negotiations.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s official, Azerbaijan expects
Armenian’s constructive position not in words, but in steps, which
Armenia must take to resolve the conflict.
However, the Azerbaijani political experts do not expect serious
results from this meeting.
According to Asim Mollazade, a political scientist and member of the
Azerbaijani Parliament’s Standing Commission on international and
inter-parliamentary relations, Armenia does not hold serious talks on
the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh resolution: " Armenia is imitating
talks in order to deceive the international community. Therefore,
Moscow meeting will be fruitless."
Mollazade said that achievement of no progress in resolution of the
conflict so far is because of the Armenia’s position.
"These are ordinary talks and they will not lead to serious progress
in the resolution of the conflict," said Vafa Guluzade, a former
adviser to the Azerbaijani President on foreign policy issues