RUSSIAN, AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS SIGN DEAL ON NAGORNY KARABAKH
by Ivan Petrov

RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
November 6, 2008 Thursday

The Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents signed on Sunday a
declaration to resolve the dispute over Nagorny Karabakh, the first
ceasefire document over the issue since 1994. The agreement, signed by
Dmitry Medvedev, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan at Meiendorf Castle
outside Moscow, does not stipulate any specific obligations for the
parties and does not contain any instruments of settling the conflict
– yet, it could be called a historic one, with Moscow managing to
achieve the almost impossible task of persuading the Azerbaijani and
Armenian presidents to sign the document.

The Azerbaijani -Armenian conflict over Nagorny Karabakh has
been under control of the Minsk group of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), co-chaired by Russia,
France and the United States, for over 15 years. Despite the lack
of any breakthroughs, analysts say the absence of any new conflict
in the territory is an achievement in itself. According to Levon
Melik-Shakhnazaryan, a political expert at Yerevan’s Anania Shirakatsi
University of International Relations, avoiding the war is the main
aim of the Minsk group’s activities. "It is of no interest to OSCE
whether or not Nagorny Karabakh gets the status of an independent
territory or becomes part of Armenia or Azerbaijan or Sudan – the
main target is the absence of war, as the territory is a supplier of
energy resources for OSCE members," Melik-Shakhnazaryan emphasized.

This might be the reason Matthew Bryza, U.S. Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, made an
unexpected statement saying he is satisfied with the outcome of
Russia’s efforts over the issue.

According to Alexei Malashenko, a member of the scientific council
of the Moscow Carnegie Center, keeping the conflict over Nagorny
Karabakh frozen is actually quite beneficial for all the countries
concerned. "Currently, there is no solution which would be equally
satisfying for all the sides involved, so holding meetings and signing
some unremarkable documents will give the advantageous impression
that the issue is being settled," he said.

Meanwhile, the declaration has once again proved Russia to be the key
political player in the Caucasus and showed Moscow, not Washington
or Paris, as the center for major diplomatic activities to settle the
conflict. The country, which has been strengthening its positions in
the region, needed yet more evidence of its growing power – and this
was brilliantly achieved by signing the Meiendorf Declaration.