ArmInfo.The 44-day-war in the South Caucasus disturbed the politico-military and geopolitical balance. And a new politico-military balance that would ensure long- lasting peace in the region will take a considerable amount of time to form, Ambassador Arman Melikyan said in an interview with ArmInfo.
"The present geopolitical situation does not allow either the Armenian or the Azerbaijani leaders to ignore the geopolitical situation in our region and in the neighboring ones even during the next six months. Under the circumstances, any document Yerevan and Baku would sign here and now will not secure the signatories against possible – and even expected – geopolitical shocks in and round our region," Mr Melikyan said.
Amid the ongoing geopolitical transformations, signing any interstate document supposed to "legally cement" the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations in terms of their level and content is pointless. On the other hand, the negotiations amid the region's geopolitical reconfiguration are, beyond doubt, a deterrent to possible use of force.
Even if Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a peace treaty in the foreseeable future, such a treaty should not be expected to contain special points on Artsakh. And given the fact that Azerbaijan's legislation does not contain a point on a territorial unit named Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku can at best guarantee the rights of the Artsakh Armenians.
"My greatest concern is that Armenia's incumbent authorities are lacking experience and knowledge necessary to manage such complicated processes. In this context, I think that the prospects of Russian military presence in Artsakh will depend on the presence of the Armenian population that needs protection rather than on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement," Mr Melikyan said.