RUSSIAN POLITICAL SCIENTIST: RETURN OF FIVE OCCUPIED REGIONS TO AZERBAIJAN MUST UNDOUBTEDLY BECOME THE FIRST STEP

Today.Az
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April 20 2009
Azerbaijan

The results of the visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Moscow are
positive, said head of the center for post-Soviet area study Alexei
Vlasov.

"The very information background around this visit both in Russian
and Azerbaijan mass medias and analysis of speeches of Dmitri
Medvedev and Ilham Aliyev by results of the meeting prove that the
Russian-Azerbaijani relations are just close to a very serious
breakthrough in a positive direction. Personally, I have this
impression", said the political scientist.

As for the Karabakh conflict, he said that Russia during the presidency
of Vladimir Putin and especially now since the start of Medvedev’s
presidency has repeatedly voiced a common approach – Russia is for
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

"I have not heard any different position from our officials on this
issue. Second, Moscow, Baku and I think Ankara and Yerevan realize that
the internal negative energy around the Karabakh conflict is growing.

And if some positive changes in the resolution of the conflict do not
occur soon at least in the step by step format, the situation might
simply come out of control and Moscow is absolutely not interested
in this, not speaking of the direct participants of the conflict.

Therefore, I suppose that Moscow has some ideas about the step by step
advancement to the resolution of this conflict and I think (this is my
personal opinion) that the result of at least five occupied regions
of Azerbaijan, which are under occupation. And this step, I think,
must be taken beyond the context of the resolution of the issue about
the status of Nagorno Karabakh", said the political scientist.