ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia
 Monday


Analyst: "Exchange of territories for peace" will not lead Karabakh
for a long peace

Yerevan May 22

David Stepanyan. The willingness to negotiate "around the exchange of
territories for peace" recently voiced by Elmar Mamedyarov is a
long-awaited interim solution for Azerbaijan. An independent analyst,
ex-head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno-Karabakh Arman
Melikyan expressed such opinion to ArmInfo. The last week was
characterized by a significant increase in tension on the
Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line. Azerbaijani snipers killed three
servicemen of the NKR Defense Army. After that by the guided missile
was damaged the anti-aircraft missile system "Osa" of the NKR.

After all this, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said
that Baku is ready to negotiate "around the exchange of territories
for peace." In other words, the leadership of Azerbaijan promises not
to kill Armenian servicemen in response to the agreement to withdraw
troops from certain areas. However, in response to the alert, the
advanced units of the NKR DA resorted to punitive measures, as a
result of which several objects of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were
destroyed.

The analyst stressed that representatives of Russian political and
expert circles voiced the formula for the "exchange of territories for
peace" for months before Mamadyarov. According to his estimates,
through its implementation, Azerbaijan will be able to snatch half of
the territory of Artsakh and gain new strategic positions without a
single casualty and special efforts.

"According to these absolutely false and unfounded speeches, it is
allegedly possible to establish a lasting peace and eradicate
hostility. After a while, however, Azerbaijan does not hesitate to use
any convenient moment to attack the above-mentioned Armenian cities
and will try to capture Artsakh and Syunik," the analyst summed up.