Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Dec 30 2014

Roundup of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2014

30 December 2014 – 4:14pm
By Andrey Petrov, Moscow, exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

The trial of Azerbaijani citizens Dilgam Askerov and Shakhbaz Guliyev,
caught trespassing in Nagorno-Karabakh, has become the final event in
the conflict region in 2014. Together with Gasan Gasanov, they crossed
the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line in July, risking their lives to
allegedly visit their native lands in the Kalbajar District. Gasanov
was shot by the Armenian military, the other two trespassers were
detained.

Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan
had trilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi,
with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Wales and with French
president Francois Hollande in Paris. The latter was highlighted for
the positive impressions left after the negotiations. However, the
peace process went downhill 10 days later, when the Azerbaijani
military shot down an Armenian helicopter involved in military drills
in the conflict zone. The trial of Askerov and Guliyev took place in
the conflict zone, making their extradition impossible.

Asim Mollazadeh, a member of the Azerbaijani parliament and political
analyst, emphasized that 2014 had not been characterized by any
progress in the peace process. In his words, Armenia continued
imitating a negotiation process, it is unprepared to implement the
UNSC resolution and leave the occupied territories. The co-chairs of
the OSCE Minsk Group, according to Mollazadeh, did nothing to bring
the sides any closer to peace.

The lawmaker reminded that the international community could influence
the situation with more than declarations. He noted that the U.S. had
passed many sanctions against Russia over Crimea and Ukraine and had
done little to stop Armenian occupation.

Alexander Markarov, the director of the Armenian office of the
Institute of CIS Countries, opined that positive moments throughout
the year had been ruined by rising tensions and the helicopter
showdown in November. He reminded that the Azerbaijani and Armenian
foreign ministers had not met at a session of their OSCE counterparts
at the last session in Basel.

According to Markarov, next year will be dedicated to searching for
alternative solutions, following existing documents, taking into
account the contrary positions. The expert predicts only small
progressive steps in the peace process next year.