No Progress in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Resolution in Next Two Years: Sabine Freizer

Before the Jun. 25 Kazan meeting of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, there were hopes that both sides would agree at least on the general principles of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the International Crisis Group’s Europe Program Director Sabine Freizer to the Baku-based APA news agency.

“Unfortunately, the international community, as well as the Azerbaijani society, was dissatisfied with the results of the Kazan meeting,” she said.

Weighing in on Turkey’s role in the talks, Freizer said Ankara had “very interesting ideas” concerning the resolution of the conflict.

“But Turkey has a border issue with Armenia; thus, there are difficulties. If Turkey wishes to make any contribution to the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it should, first of all, normalize the relations with Armenia,” she said.

Freizer asserted that no major shifts were expected in the resolution of the conflict in the next two years.

“Elections will be held in the co-chairing countries, Russia, US and France, in the coming two years. Therefore, I think it is unlikely that there will be any recovery in the negotiations,” he said.