KARABAKH CAN ONLY BE RESOLVED BY MAKING RADICAL CONCESSIONS

The Messenger
Aug 24 2009
Georgia

Former MP Murat Petrosian, a political analyst from Nagorno Karabakh,
thinks that the solution of the Karabakh problem depends greatly on
the positions of Russia and the USA, who should reconcile the positions
of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which are almost mutually exclusive.

Petrosian is very sceptical about this happening however, stating
that real regulation of the conflict is possible only through at
least one party making very serious concessions. Armenian President
Levon Ter-Petrosian was forced to resign in 1998 for advocating such
concessions. It is unlikely that Ilham Aliev, President of Azerbaijan,
will ever recognise the independence of the Karabakh Republic,
and any Armenian President who agreed to the possibility of wide
autonomy for Karabakh within Azeri borders would also be forced to
step down. The analyst draws the very pessimistic conclusion that
in foreseeable future it will be difficult to sign and conclude any
document establishing peace in the region.

Petrosian thinks that the USA is very much interested in seeing
peace and stability in the region but Russia does not need a final
determination of Karabakh’s status. Moscow prefers a situation where
the resolution of the Karabakh problem depends on what the Kremlin’s
position is. He suggests that at the moment it would be useful to
create a document where Karabakh’s status is determined which both
sides can interpret in the way they choose. However Petrosian admits
that this most complicated task is almost impossible to fulfil.