ARMENIA, RUSSIA SHOULD ANNOUNCE THEIR PREPAREDNESS FOR REAL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT, SAYS AMERICAN EXPERT

Trend
Dec 19 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 19/ Trend News, R. Novruzov/ Armenia and
Russia should announce their preparedness for talks with Azerbaijan to
really settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said S.Frederick Starr,
American expert on the South Caucasus and Central Asia and head of
Central Asia – Caucasus Institute.

"The fact that Russia originally acted as initiator of the conflict and
later became mediator in the resolution of the conflict is, at least,
strange," Starr said to Trend News in Baku on Dec 19.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. 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
negotiations.

American political expert described activities of the OSCE Minsk Group
as failure because of differences between two co-chair countries –
Russia and the United States.

The expert described activeness of conflicting sides in talks
especially with the active participation of Russia and precisely
Moscow Declaration by leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia as
Russia’s strive to "wipe nose of U.S."

Presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia Ilham Aliyev, Serzh
Sarkisyan and Dmitry Medvedev signed a declaration at the end of their
meeting in Main Dorf castle near Moscow on November 2. Presidents
of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan decided to make joint efforts to
normalize the situation in the Caucasus.