ARMENIAN EXPERT: RUSSIAN, ISRAELI PRESIDENTS’ RECENT VISITS TO BAKU AFFIRM AZERBAIJAN’S ENHANCED STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE PROMPTING ARMENIA TO BECOME CONCERNED
Today.Az
ics/53866.html
July 16 2009
Azerbaijan
Richard Giragosian, Director, Armenian Center for National and
International Studies, spoke in an exclusive interview with Day.Az.
Day.Az: Baku says that the talks on resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is comig closer to final stage. To what degree are you
optimistic about resolution of the conflict any time soon?
Richard Giragosian: As the Moscow meeting between recent Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian confirms,
it is now clear that the diplomatic mediation effort aimed at resolving
the Nagorno Karabagh conflict is now entering a crucial and more
active stage. But the timing of this latest stage of peace talks
and summit meetings is most significant in terms of Turkish-Armenian
diplomacy, as Turkey is now seeking to pressure Armenia to produce
something that can be used as "progress" over the Karabagh conflict
in order to allow Turkey to proceed with its diplomatic engagement
of Armenia in anticipation of the October visit to Turkey by the
Armenian president. Yet from this context, there is a more realistic
expectation for a limited and marginal sign of "progress" rather than
any true breakthrough between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Q: What is the reason for negative assessment of Armenia to statement
by Dmitry Medvedev and Shimon Peres in Baku which was also reflected
in Armenian media as well.
A: Nearly one year after the war in Georgia, Azerbaijan has been
steadily acquiring an enhanced strategic significance. In this way,
both Russia and even Israel has been actively seeking to forge closer
ties with Azerbaijan. Thus, the recent visits to Baku by the Russian
and Israeli presidents affirm the enhanced strategic importance of
Azerbaijan, prompting Armenia to become increasingly concerned.
Q: During a PACE session, a member of the Armenian delegation Zaruhi
Postanjyan approached to representatives of the Azerbaijani and Turkish
delegations and asked to sign for a change in PACE Resolution on
Armenia. Her performance led to a negative assessment of Armenian
counterparts. And at the next plenary meeting, she intends to
once again appeal to Azerbaijani delegates. How do you assess this
situation?
A: Postanjyan was courageous in working for the deepening of democracy
in Armenia, and stays firm to her commitment to justice and human
rights, although her critics still cling to outdated ad rather limited
notions of nationalist posturing.
Q: How do you comment on the visits of representatives of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian delegation to Nagorno-Karabakh, Yerevan
and Baku? How these meetings can facilitate dialogue between the
two countries?
A: The recent visit to Armenia, Karabagh and Azerbaijan of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani Ambassadors to Russia marked a new effort of
"people’s diplomacy." Although the visit was timed with a new, more
active stage of mediation focused on the Karabagh conflict, what is
most significant of the visit is that it revealed the fact that far
too little has been done on either the Armenian or the Azerbaijani
sides to prepare the general population for any possible resolution
of the Karabagh conflict.
On a broader level, in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabagh, society
itself is not engaged in the peace process, a reality that poses a
real problem, and compounds the fact that the lack of information
concerning the peace process only leads to misinformation. While
the Armenian government must do much more to educate and involve its
citizens in the peace process, it is also clear that Azerbaijan has
also failed to properly prepare its public for any possible progress
in the peace talks.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress