Epress.am News from Armenia
The forecast for 2011 on Nagorno-Karabakh is disappointing. The prospect of a breakthrough in the conflict is unlikely, especially considering the parties missed an opportunity at the OSCE Summit, said Senior Research Fellow in Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Security at The Heritage Foundation Ariel Cohen, reports Trend News.
According to him, the US will begin to actively prepare for the 2012 presidential elections. In addition, 2011 will be a crucial, even critical year for the operations of coalition forces in Afghanistan, he said.
“This means that the US will have other priorities. Therefore, intractable conflicts, in which the prospect for immediate political and PR dividends for Washington is small, and the threat to national security is also limited, will have a smaller role for the US administration, especially given the continuing difficulties with the country’s economic situation,” said Cohen.
As for Russia’s intermediary mission, everything is so unequivocal, he said.
“It is obvious that Azerbaijan is ready for serious concessions to achieve progress. On the other hand, the historical ties between Armenia and Russia can not be shaken by the readiness of Azerbaijan to resolve the conflict. Nothing but a major reorientation of Armenia to the US, which incidentally is possible in the future, can change the balance of power,” concluded Cohen.