“The positive side of the recent Karabakh summit  held on Friday in Vienna has been the recommitment of the sides to creating an environment conducive to peace,” political scientist Alexander Markarov told a press conference on Saturday. In Markarov’s words, this positive trend may lead to favorable conditions  in the future to create the respective format for the conflict settlement. Markarov pointed to recalling of the Dushanbe meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev and the adherence to the ceasefire regime as another positive outcome of the meeting.

The expert, however, said the statement issued on behalf of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers as well as the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, contained no reference to some of the key elements voiced by the Armenia side ahead of the summit. “The Armenia side was voicing some key points, such as Artsakh direct participation in the negotiations, clarification of the principles and provisions for the settlement the statement does not cover,” Markarov explained.