Yerevan and Baku Should Abandon Slogan ‘Karabakh is Ours’

Armenian-Turkish relations will become realistic only after any sort of prospect is seen in the process of settling the Nagorno-Karbakh conflict, said Armenian political analyst Suren Surenyants in an interview with NewCaucasus.com. 

“Most likely, next year or after Armenia’s presidential elections, there will be a definite solution to the Karabakh conflict. Following that will be the recovery process of Armenian-Turkish relations. In the issue of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the authorities and the opposition in Armenia, in fact, have no differences,” said Surenyants. 

Both sides understand that the issue should be resolved through compromise, believes Surenyants. “Naturally, the issue of self-determination of the Karabakh people is very important for the Armenian side. I believe that the Madrid Principles make it possible that neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan in the settlement process will be a capitulating side,” he said.

I am confident that the Karabakh issue can be resolved if Yerevan and Baku both abandon the unrealistic slogan “Karabakh is ours,” said Surenyants.”It’s very important that Armenia and Azerbaijan understand that both countries are an integral part of a united Caucasus, which, in turn, tries to integrate into Europe. In this case, the issue of territorial affiliation becomes secondary,” he said. 

Surenyants also noted that the likelihood of renewing fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh is increased because of the “quality” of the current authorities in Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Both governments are authoritarian, both are more engaged in the issue of manipulating the public than in the issue of lasting peace. But in power in Yerevan and Baku are pragmatists who understand the danger of war. 

“The Armenian side has no reason to go to war, while in Azerbaijan, this is more of a propaganda than a reality. But since there is nationalist rhetoric in both countries, the threat of war increases.  In addition, the region has the strong interests of Russia and Iran, whose behaviors are unpredictable,” he said.