KARABAKH PROBLEM SHOULD BE RESOLVED BY ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, TURKEY AND RUSSIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
16.09.2008 16:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The fate of a Caucasus alliance is in the hands of
leading regional powers – Russia and Turkey, a Russian expert said.

"All understand that conflicts damage not only political but also
economic relations. Armenia is surrounded by Turkey and Azerbaijan,
what hampers it economic development," said Alexander Sotnichenko,
senior lecturer at St. Petersburg State University.

At the same time he remarked that routing its oil via
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Baku suffers huge losses. "The pipe
goes around Armenia, thus becoming one of the most expensive and
unprofitable," he said.

"The problems should be resolved consistently, without interference of
countries which don’t know anything about the situation in Caucasus,"
the expert emphasized.

As to absence of South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Nagorno Karabakh in
the Stability and Cooperation Platform, Sotnichenko said, it’s
not an obstacle for economic and political ties. "Russia and Japan
hasn’t signed a peaceful agreement yet, but it doesn’t hamper normal
relations. Turkey has the problem of Cyprus. The EU views Turkey as
occupant but enjoys good relations with it. So, such problems are
solvable," he said.

Touching on the Karabakh problem, the expert said, "If we recognize
Karabakh, we will damage relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. The
problem should be resolved through talks, with participation of
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Russia," Nakanune.ru reports.