ARMENIA’S POSITION OVER KARABAKH SETTLEMENT GROWS STRONGER

Aysor
Feb 3 2010
Armenia

Positions of Armenia and Russia over settlement to the Karabakh
conflict grew stronger, said in the article by a political analyst of
East European affairs for the Jamestown Foundation, Vladimir Socor,
released in the Eurasia Daily Monitor.

‘Political problems have recently added new complications to the
Nabucco project," says Vladimir Socor.

"One such problem, clearly recognized by project stakeholders and
other European observers, but underestimated in Washington, is
Azerbaijan’s political alienation resulting from recent US policies
on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Those policies, in their result
if not intent, came close to de-aligning Turkey from Azerbaijan,
while strengthening Russia’s and Armenia’s hands in the negotiations
on the Karabakh conflict.

"At perceived risk of isolation, and lacking an outlet to Europe for
its growing gas surplus, Azerbaijan is open to Russian and Iranian
offers to export its gas in those directions."

Contradiction between Azerbaijan and U.S. over the settlement to the
Karabakh problem remains as a lion in the way of development of the
Nabucco Gas pipeline project which is expected to connect Turkey with
Europe, pointed in the article.