Tert, Armenia
Nov 14 2009

Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Resolution Depends Not Only on Conflict
Parties, Says U.S. Analyst
14:18 ¢ 14.11.09

Former Special Assistant to U.S. president Mark Medish believes the
adjustment of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict doesn’t depend only on the
conflicting parties.

"As somebody who worked on the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations during
the Clinton Administration, I have long believed that a mutually
acceptable settlement is within reach, but unfortunately opportunistic
political calculations in various capitals have blocked it," former
Senior Director for Eurasian Affairs on the US National Security
Council 2000-2001, who is currently a senior advisor at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace said in an interview with
Azerbaijani news agency Trend News.

Speaking about the conditions for stability in the South Caucasus,
Medish stressed that "Basically all conflicts sides have understood
that the path of confrontation is extremely dangerous and not in
anyone’s interest."

He also noticed that "the scars are deep and anxiety remains high. The
consequences of recklessly unfreezing a frozen conflict, as Georgia
and Russia did last year, could be like Pandora’s Box. Therefore
efforts must be re-doubled for negotiated, peaceful resolution of all
regional disputes, with the help of international mediators as much as
needed".

Mr. Medish also commented on U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip
Gordon’s doubts that without progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
solution, the Armenia-Turkey Protocols will be ratified by the Turkish
Parliament.

"I find it difficult to predict the behavior of the US Congress and
therefore I would be careful to make statements about other countries’
parliaments. In any case, the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement is to be
welcomed as a step toward regional stabilization and integration,"
mentioned the analyst.