Epress.am News from Armenia
Talks between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, upon the initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, will take place in Sochi today. This is the tenth and probably last meeting dedicated to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during Medvedev’s presidency in the trilateral format. Most likely, as with all the previous meetings, this one too won’t bring visible progress, reports Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
In contrast to last year’s meeting in Kazan, there are no positive expectations from the meeting in Sochi. Ahead of the talks in the Tatarstan capital, both the mediators and representatives of the conflicting parties made it clear, albeit in muted form, that the presidents would sign a document in Kazan that would bring the negotiation process out of the impasse and the issue would move forward.
Regarding today’s meeting, even the experts are pessimistic. Former presidential candidate in Azerbaijan Zardusht Alizadeh, commenting on the upcoming negotiations on the Black Sea coast, laconically noted: nothing changes except the lunch menu. Or Sargsyan, in contrast to past meetings, not only will watch Medvedev and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev skiing, but also will join them.
His colleague Elkhan Shahinoglu also believes if Medvedev failed to make progress in the Karabakh process during his presidency, it is unlikely that it will happen when he becomes a “lame duck”.
“The Sochi meeting is similar to parting meeting among colleagues. The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan understand the meaninglessness of the meeting, but they also cannot refuse. After all, Medvedev may lead the Russian government and it’s not worth spoiling relations with the outgoing president and future prime minister of Russia,” said Shahinoglu.
Similar assessments were made in Yerevan. In particular, head of the Heritage Party’s parliamentary faction Stepan (Styopa) Safaryan said progress shouldn’t have been expected, regardless of whether Medvedev was leaving the presidency or not.
“The process is in a deadlock because the nature of resistance was distorted, the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was excluded from negotiations, and the discussion of explosive ideas and situations was terminated,” he said.
At the same time, in Safaryan’s opinion, the talks should continue and issues should be discussed, since only contact stops tensions rising in the region and reduces the risks of clashes at the line of contact between the conflicting parties.